The 28th Hunger Games
by dimitrisgirl18
Summary: The 28th Hunger Games were a Games just like any other. Or were they? Of course there were lies, betrayal, love, fate, deceit, and a victor, but did anyone really win in the end? *CLOSED* Day Two, Part Two just posted.
1. SYO Forms

The 28th Hunger Games are about to begin, and you can submit your own tribute! Please fill out this form in a review, or if your submission is too long, PM me. Please submit, I am very open to any and all of the great ideas here on Fanfiction! You can also submit a mentor or a stylist. They will have separate forms on the bottom. They won't be featured as much, but will definitely have a big impact on the story! Be as descriptive as you can. Enter information in the bonus category for more sponsor points and good luck for your character. You can submit 3 characters total. Thanks, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Tribute Form:

First, Middle, and Last Name:

Age:

Gender:

Appearance:

District:

Personality:

Family (name, relationship, age, personality):

Friends (name, relationship, age, personality):

Reaction to reaping:

Did he/she volunteer? Why?

Best and worst weapon:

Skill he/she showed Gamemakers:

Strengths (up to 4):

Weaknesses:

Fears:

Alliances?

Do you want a romance for your character? Or does he/she have a romance already? (you may submit your character's boyfriend/girlfriend as a separate character, who knows?)

Reaping outfit:

Presenting/Chariot outfit:

Interview outfit:

Special talents (instruments, cooking, etc):

Bonus:

Favorite color (5):

Write a portion of his/her interview, no longer than 150 words. (15)

Ideas for the arena (15):

Write a short description of the arena, no longer than 150 words. (15)

Write a short description of his/her home and life, no longer than 200 words. (15)

Character motto (10):

Mentor Form:

First and Last Name:

Age:

Gender:

District:

Which Hunger Games did he/she win?

Bonus-Application Form (why does he/she want to coach this year's tributes? no longer than 200 words) (25)

Stylist Application Form:

First Name only:

Age:

Gender:

Stylist for which District?

Stylist for boy tribute or girl tribute?

How long has he/she been styling?

Ideas for his/her district outfit, both chariot and interview:

Bonus: Write a short description of your perfect chariot outfit for your district. (20)


	2. Tribute List

Here's what we have so far! An overwhelming response, guys, thanks. I've had a few questions about reservations, so here are the rules. 1. You must let me know the character names and the District of the character(s) you want to reserve. 2. If you wish to reserve a whole district or more than one character, you only get 3 days. After that, it's open to everyone. 3. If you wish to reserve only one character, you have 5 days.

PM me or review, but please turn on your messaging feature so I can let you know about any reserve questions or any questions I might have, in order to get your character right!

No limit of three characters, keep submitting! I REALLY NEED MORE CHARACTERS The open spots are: Mentors: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10 Stylists: 1-3, 5-12

The SYO Tribute, Mentor and Stylist will be open until we get enough submissions or until December 24th. Once a district's tribute spots have been filled, I will begin to write the reaping for that district. All character spots are subject to change. May the odds be ever in your favor.

**THIS IS UPDATED FREQUENTLY. CHECK BACK TO SEE IF RESERVATIONS HAVE BEEN LIFTED OR TAKEN.**

Tribute/Mentor/Stylist List

District 1-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute-Adam Benjamin Way

Girl Tribute-Rainbow-Light Starling Moonshine

Mentor-

Boy Stylist-

Girl Stylist-

District 2-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute-Kale Damien Solomowitz

Girl Tribute-Rose Andromeda Shea

Mentor-Annabelle Vanderhoff

Boy Stylist-

Girl Stylist-

District 3-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute-Jack Thog Sandstorm

Girl Tribute-Juliette Aurora Starmite

Mentor-Hoptel Dabbs (G)

Boy Stylist-

Girl Stylist-Miranda

District 4-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute-Moray Melbourne

Girl Tribute-Marissa Jean Lionheart

Mentor-Callum Lionheart (B)

Boy Stylist-Melrose

Girl Stylist-Magnificence

District 5-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute-Chase John Buck

Girl Tribute-Alice Dakota Catching

Mentor-Stella Redwing (G)

Boy Stylist-Byron

Girl Stylist-

District 6-

Boy Tribute-Rilan Hemworth

Girl Tribute-Zara Giovanni

Mentor-Andy Little (B)

Boy Stylist-

Girl Stylist-

District 7-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute-Stark Erick Logger

Girl Tribute-Sayria Ivy Nell

Mentor-

Boy Stylist-

Girl Stylist-Livette

District 8-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute- Jay Harrow

Girl Tribute-Aubrie Zulreese Mahora

Mentor-Kaaligah Hennia (B)

Boy Stylist-

Girl Stylist-

District 9-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute-Fletcher Ross

Girl Tribute-Diana Willow Reston

Mentor-Jade Fluess (G)

Boy Stylist-

Girl Stylist-

District 10-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute-Zander Jim Lox

Girl Tribute-Anna Jill Moore

Mentor-Taynin Jagife (B)

Boy Stylist-

Girl Stylist-

District 11-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute-Saul Roman Giovanni

Girl Tribute-Ivy Hazel Fields

Mentor-Ray Barley (B)

Boy Stylist-

Girl Stylist-Adrina

District 12-Reaping in progress

Boy Tribute-Ben Spark Embers

Girl Tribute-Katerina Mary Thorne

Mentor: Jay Hannigan (B)

Boy Stylist-

Girl Stylist-


	3. Sponsor Points

Yes, the long-awaited: Sponsor Points! Here's how you can get points.

Review-worth 1 point

Message me with an idea for how the story will go-1 point

Get that idea used-20 points

Have submitted a tribute-10 points per tribute (up to 4)

Have submitted a mentor-5 points per mentor (up to 4)

Have submitted a stylist-5 points per stylist (up to 4)

As you can see, lots of ways to earn points! There are still plenty of spots left, so if you want points or if you just want to speed up the story being written, then submit characters! Now, what can you do with these points? Give:

Empty backpack-2 points

Small water bottle-3 points

Small food pack (contains 2 slices local district bread and 2 slices cheese)-5 points

Standard sleeping bag (non-insulation)-5 points

Medicine for cuts or bruises-7 points

Backpack (with small canteen of water, dried food and one match)-10 points

Small medicine pack (band-aid, dab of cream)-10 points

Standard food pack (loaf of district bread, chunk of cheese, small canteen of water)-15 points

Standard medicine pack (band-aids, cream, low-effect painkiller)-18 points

Small weapon in okay condition (dagger or knife)-18 points

Good sleeping bag-20 points

Good backpack (loaf of district bread, chunk of cheese, canteen of water, sleeping bag, 5 matches)-35 points

Larger weapon (bow with 5 arrows or one bladed sword)-40 points

Basic kit (loaf of bread, chunk of cheese, canteen of water, sleeping bag, small rope, slightly fire-resistant gloves, small healing salve)-50 points

Special medicine (medicine to slowly heal anything broken or serious injuries, needle and thread, morphling)- 75 points

Lots of ways to spend those points, too. You can't use sponsor points until the games actually start, but you can still get points before then if you do any of the actions that get you points, like reviewing.

If you want to know your point level, PM me. To use these points, in a review (which DOES count as 1 more point) state the name and district of the tribute, your points, and what you want to give to that tribute.

Ex. Juliette Starmite-District 3. My points-40. I want to give a good backpack.

Then, in the next chapter, or whenever Juliette is featured, she will receive the backpack. It's as easy as that! And you don't even have to submit a character to earn points. Anyone can earn points by doing any of the actions listed at the top.

So review and start racking up those sponsor points to help your favorites! Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4 reapings up soon. Thanks, and may the odds be ever in your favor.


	4. Districts 1 to 4 Reapings

District 1 Reaping

Rainbow-Light Moonshine POV

I put one last curl in my hair before stepping out of my bedroom, knowing it could possibly be my last time there. Smoothing my crinkled plain white button-up shirt, my hands shook. I was always scared. I mean, I know I shouldn't be, but I can't help it. It's supposed to be an honor to be chosen, and many people volunteer. Yeah, volunteer. I can't think of anyone I would volunteer for, except for my sister, Fireflight. Those games are barbaric. Stupid. Pointless. Yeah, we get it. The Capitol is in control.

Taking a deep breath, I embraced my mom and dad before getting into the car and driving 5 minutes to the center of town, where the annual reapings were. My sister and I laughed and talked, but there was tension in the air. Somehow, today felt…different. Almost a bad kind of different, but I waved it off as the effect of it just being a generally grim day.

Finally, we pulled into the town. The reaping stage was already surrounded by twelve to eighteen year olds waiting for their future to be announced. Would they get to live another year, or was this the end of the road? I said one last goodbye to my mom and dad, and led my sister to the girls' section. I knelt down. My sister was short for her age, 5'0, and I was almost 5'8. "Whatever happens today, Fireflight, I want you to know I love you, OK?"

"Jeez, Rain. You sound so pessimistic. Come on, you didn't even let me sign up for any tesserae. I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about."

I gently squeezed her shoulder. "That's because we don't need any tesserae. Or at least, don't need it badly." The truth was, we did sort of need tesserae. We just couldn't bear to put our names in that bowl one more time than was necessary.

She smiled. "Alright, Rain. Whatever you say. Love you too." All of the sudden, a loud screeching noise filled our ears. Microphone feedback. All these years of technology, and we still can't fix feedback?

A young woman, probably in her 20s, winced, then cleared her throat. "Hello District One!" she said cheerily. "Today we celebrate the control of the Capitol over the Districts. As a reminder to all those who…" I zoned out. Same speech every year. The only time I really listened was when they called the tributes.

"For the District One boy tribute!" said the woman. I think her name was Glitter Rave, she looked like the woman we had last year, just with one or two more facial adornments. "Periwinkle Tulle!" An average looking boy emerged from the crowd. I could tell he was trying to keep a poker face.

"I volunteer!" said a boy in the back of the crowd. He was wearing ripped up jeans and a black shirt. He was kind of handsome, too. But he just volunteered for death. He pushed his way forward.

"Al…right." said Glitter. Periwinkle anxiously left the stage. "And your name is?" she asked.

"Adam. Adam Way." he said proudly. Glitter shrugged.

"And now for the girl tribute!" Her hand rummaged around in the big glass bowl for a while. She seemed to be taking her time. The seconds passed agonizingly. She eventually pulled a small piece of paper out. Please don't let it be me. Please don't let it be-"Fireflight Moonshine!" said Glitter, seeming to be pleased that she had done her job once again.

No. No. Not Fireflight. Anyone but her. Please no. Like a bird, Fireflight gave me a scared look and flitted to the front. All of my memories of her flashed before my eyes. Fireflight singing like an angel. Laughing at me because I couldn't carry a tune. Playing the harp. Looking through our old memory books. Playing an old game together. Huddling together for warmth in the winter. Spending all that time together. And now, this memory, forever etched in my mind, her death sentence. I knew she couldn't kill. Much less survive in that arena. My sister just couldn't do it.

Adam gave her a scornful look, like he was disappointed that she was his district partner. He looked over to where she came from, and found me, staring daggers. If looks could kill, he'd be ten feet under and still going down. Adam looked away quickly, finding someone else to stare down.

"So," Glitter began. "If we don't have any more volunteers…" She trailed off, looking around expectantly. It was now or never. "I guess we'll-"

"Me!" I shouted. "I volunteer for Fireflight." Everyone's heads turned to look at me. I tucked a loose strand of my fire-red hair back into my ponytail nervously, then walked to the front. I climbed on stage quickly. Hugging my sister one last time, I whispered "I love you" and sent her back down.

She looked up worriedly at me. I'll be okay, I mouthed. I saw the mournful expression on her young face for only a moment before she turned away.

"Two volunteers!" Glitter sounded excited, like this was the best day ever. It probably was, for her. The Capitol probably has some messed up system that if you get volunteers, you get paid more. That would be just like them.

"Thank you District One! May the odds be ever in your favor!" Glitter motioned for us to come off the stage. "This is how it works. You will be in that-" she pointed to a large building to our right "-building for two hours. Work out your strategy, do whatever. But you're going to be alone. After those two hours, you get an hour to see your family and have them bring back your district token. Then you will get together and meet your mentor for this year. Got it?"

Adam and I both nodded. "Cool. These guys are going to take you to your temporary rooms. Bye now!" she said, and left.

As I walked into the building, I couldn't help thinking that I was walking to my death. How wonderful.

District 2 Reaping

Kale Solomowitz POV

Finally, my last reaping. I looked around the area calmly. There were quite a lot of kids here, although none wearing clothes as casual as mine. Jeans and a dress shirt. Some were wearing jewel encrusted skirts and pants, some were just wearing their school uniform. Some of the eighteen year olds who had already begun to work in the mines were wearing their quarrier uniforms.

I could feel my dad breathing on my neck. He insisted I stand in the very back so he could stay close, even though we were some of the first to get here. I wanted to turn around and slap him for all the mean things he'd said to my sister Haylan today, but I knew that would just get me in more trouble. Right now, I'm not allowed to drive or hang out with my friends. Well, friend.

Speak of Juno, and she shall appear. My hyper best and only friend bounced up excitedly, standing just outside the guy's section. "Hey Kale!" she said. "Hi Mr. Solomowitz." she said, in a slightly less happy tone. But you can't suppress Juno for long. "So! Aren't you excited?"

"Well…" I said, unsure. I felt my dad poke me in the back.

"Of course he is. He's volunteering this year." he said, sounding sort of happy for once in his life.

Instantly, the color drained from Juno's face. And let me tell you, for her not to be smiling is quite a feat to achieve. "You…you are? And you didn't tell me?"

"I just found out this morning, Juno." I raised my eyebrows toward my dad. She nodded.

"Oh, okay then. Good…" she choked on her newly found tears. "Good luck." She ran away quickly, never showing her face. One more person whose face will haunt me in the arena.

It was at that moment I decided to do everything possible to get back home, if not for the sake of my sanity, but for the sake of my sisters. Then again, when you're dead, does your sanity really matter?

"Good morning District Two." said a fairly young man, who didn't look very enthusiastic about being here. I wonder where the woman from last year is…unless they fired her because of the scandal…. "We are here today to reap two children as a reminder that the Capitol is in complete control. You get it." He thrust his hand into the clear glass bowl that held hundreds of names. "For the boy tribute…" He pulled one out. "Irving Clash!" A young boy of no more than 13 walked on stage.

My dad punched me in the back. "Go!" he hissed. I stumbled forward.

"I-" My voice cracked as I looked at Juno, her face pleading with me. The faces of my sisters and mother swam before me. I swallowed hard. The fate they would all face from my father and his friends would be much worse if I didn't volunteer. Juno would take care of them. "I volunteer!" This time, my voice rang loud and clear as it spread throughout the square.

I had one last look of triumph from my dad and then I was on the stage as they called the girl tribute, "Opal Vyer!"

She could barely move a foot when a girl in the front of the crowd yelled "I volunteer!" The new girl seemed to be up on the stage almost immediately, her emerald green eyes boring through me as she finally seemed to accept me.

"And what are your names?" the man asked. I had forgotten he was up here.

"Rose Andromeda Shea, but you can call me-" She swallowed here, looking for an invisible face in the crowd. She became soft for a moment, as if remembering the past. "You can call me Drami." Instantly, her arrogant, cold, disposition came slamming back, her face turning to a set mask of stone.

"And you, young man?"

"I'm Kale Solomowitz." I didn't find it necessary to state my middle name. "You can call me Kale." I flashed a heart-winning smile. The sooner I can reel in sponsors, the better. Yeah, I was already planning. The guy who represented the Capitol said a few more things, and then it was time to go.

He showed us to our separate rooms in a large building that, oddly enough, I'd never noticed before. We were supposed to think of strategy or whatever, but my mind was on Juno and my family. God, I hoped they were going to be alright. I sketched a picture on the notepad of paper they left with a blunt No. 2 pencil. I didn't know what I was drawing, I just was.

When I was done, I looked at the clock. The 2 hours had passed. Time was up. Juno, my mother, and my two sisters walked in. They paused, then sat down on the couch. "Wait." I said. They sat, and looked at me. "Mom, move to the end, then Juno, then you, Vina, then Haylan."

Looking down at my picture, I realized I had crudely sketched them, my family, sitting on the couch in front of me. Juno definitely counted as another sister. And Dad was missing. "Where's Dad?" I asked.

Mom finally spoke. "He…didn't want to come."

"Coward." I muttered.

"But we're here!" said Haylan, trying to keep a straight face. A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. I held open my arms, and she ran to them. Embracing her, I silently thanked whoever is up there for not letting my sisters, either one of them, get chosen.

If there was one thing I hated about the Hunger Games, it was that younger siblings were chosen. Kids volunteered for those siblings. And they knew it was over for themselves, but they did it anyway. They volunteered for love. And I held Haylan tighter.

District 3 Reaping

Juliette Starmite POV

I nervously walked into the large clearing, fingering my flashing necklace I had made just that morning. "Hey Adela!" I said, less than enthusiastic.

"Hey." Adela's normally sassy attitude was gone. She was always like this on Reaping Day.

"I made you a friendship necklace." I said, trying to lighten the mood. I handed her an identical necklace to the one I had on.

"Thanks, it's really pretty." she said. I could tell that she genuinely meant it, too. She put it on, and activated the gently flashing device. It wasn't bright enough that it would stand out, but if you really looked at it, you could tell that it was barely changing shades every few seconds.

We turned toward the front just as our friend Amy walked up. "Hi, Amy." Unlike Adela, Amy was always quiet. She coughed.

"Hi, Jules." she said, using my nickname. "Sorry about the cough, I'm kind of sick. You have any of those cough tablets?" She was talking about the ones that my dad just invented. He's kind of a workaholic. It took him 3 months in his lab just to come up with the idea of an instant cough tab.

"Yeah, here." I took one out of my braided purse and gave it to her.

"Thanks." She took it and popped it in her mouth. Within 5 minutes, her complexion was less pale and she looked better. And then…the reapings began.

"Hello District Three! I'm Tivia Thornton. Welcome to the annual Reaping celebration!" Some celebration, I thought. "This year, we will use the old motto, ladies first!"

Her hand snaked into the gold bowl like a villain. She pulled out a name. "Juliette Starmite!" Wait, me? Adela pushed me from behind. I stumbled up to the platform, almost tripping over my blue and white strapless dress.

"And for the boy tribute…" Her hand again eagerly snatched a paper out of the bowl. "Jack Sandstorm!" Jack? Jack is…was…my best friend. We played together in preschool! And I'm going to have to kill him? Wait, what am I talking about? District partners don't kill, they protect. I took a deep breath and greeted him with a smile, saying nothing more.

Thinking about my past, thinking about Ben.

District 4 Reaping

Moray Melbourne POV

"Hey dude, what's up?" A fist pump was offered to me, which I pretended that I didn't see. I wasn't a dude. I was a girl, for heaven's sake! Although, I must admit that I could pass for a guy. My auburn hair, cut short, was the only thing that could possibly ever make me look like a girl.

I had no chest, short hair, and boyish features. Except for…down there…I could pass for a boy anytime, anywhere. And believe me, I did.

Halfway through the reaping, the new representative for the Capitol got through the speech and got to the tribute part. I was excited, because this year, I was going to volunteer. So it was a surprise when I got reaped.

In the boy's category.

"Moray, are you here?" asked the woman. I hesitantly walked to the front. It didn't matter that I was reaped. I didn't have anybody to leave behind. I was orphaned as a baby. The only one I had left was Series, my "dad." I even took his last name. Heck, I don't know what my original last name was. But for now, I was Moray Melbourne, the guy. And I was going to act the part.

"Hi, Moray." I said, introducing myself (not that it was necessary) to the Capitol's representative. Now that I thought about it, my voice even made it sound like I was a guy.

So, I decided to keep up the charade. The girl tribute, "Azure Lionheart!" was called. She walked up to the platform, nervous. She must have been eighteen. There was a ring on her left finger. So she was married, or engaged. That's great, the Capitol does it again. Picks the kids with people to live for.

Then I thought about myself, and ditched that notion. A girl who looked to be about 16, a year older than me, volunteered, squeezing the shocked Azure's hand as she came up the platform. Then she introduced herself as Melissa Lionheart, and the pieces fell together. This must be her sister, or cousin.

The lady who introduced herself as Ursula talked about the Hunger Games for a while, jabbering away. I'm surprised no one else volunteered. For a Career district, this is a lousy turnout this year. An average girl and a girl who's pretending to be a boy.

Yeah, we definitely have a shot. And I smiled to the crowd, waving. But not too girlishly, of course.


	5. Districts 5 to 8 Building

District 5 Building

Alice Catching POV

The rush of the reaping soon faded as I walked into the cold gray building. The lonely feeling of it all swept over me. Here I was, on an old, faded lumpy couch in the middle of a mystery building. I was desperately trying not to cry as my thoughts went one way then the other.

First, to the reaping. When my name was pulled out of that bowl I thought I was going to faint. I knew that I was going to die. Then, my thoughts went to my strategy. That was easy. Find water. That was any tribute's sensible choice. Stay away from the Cornucopia when possible, perhaps go back later to scope out what was left. Pick up a small backpack, hopefully with some water and food. In training, I would have to be versatile. Check out the berry and survival stations and what not.

And that Chase guy, he was kind of cute. More than cute, he was…unattainable. That's what he was. But then again, if I might be the only person he can trust before death, we might get close. Alliances were key. If we show enough skill in training, or get high scores, we might be invited to the Career pack. But if we keep it low key, we can find some people who are hidden gems.

And my thoughts went on that way, until I couldn't stand it. I found a pad of paper and a pencil in the room and doodled to take my mind off of things. I also thought about what I might want as my District token. Something light to occupy my mind. There was a small gem drop necklace in my room that I found a few years ago. Whenever I wore it, it brought me luck. Yes, that would be it.

And finally, the clock chimed. Two hours had passed, and my family and close friends would be coming to see me. Or, at least, my mom would be here. My father and I have what you would call an estranged relationship. He doesn't talk to me, I don't talk to him. At least it's mutual.

"Alice!" my mom cried. She hugged me tighter and tighter until I pushed her back.

"Don't choke me, mom." I said, jokingly. I noticed two figures standing outside the curtain door.

"Alice, sweetheart, your…dad…is here to see you." My dad? The world's worst drinker was here? That's just great. I shrugged, trying to appear indifferent. I was a master at concealing my feelings.

"Okay, whatever. He can come in."

He did, and behind him was Casper, my best friend in the whole wide world. Even though we got teased endlessly, there was absolutely nothing romantic between us.

"Casper!" I said. I ran into him, embracing him tightly. There was absolutely nothing romantic, just brotherly love.

"Oh, Alice. Just come back to us, okay?" I nodded, unable to speak. When the games took me, this is who I would be leaving behind to tell my story, the story of the Capitol and how they took me to a place I would never come back from.

I remembered my dad, now standing awkwardly in the corner. "Hi…Jason." I refused to call him "Dad." He had never, ever been a father to me and it was fake if he started now. Just as I had predicted, he staggered over and I could smell alcohol on his body.

"Hey, Alice, sweetie." He patted my cheek. "See ya later…or not!" He laughed and drunkenly swayed as he walked out the makeshift door.

"Some visit." I said. My mom came over and kissed my cheek where he had patted it. Actually, it was more like he slapped it. It was beginning to get red. Oh, well. Just another addition to my already horrible day.

I would come back, and show them all. I was with the two people in my life I cared about, and I was okay for now. But only for now.

District 6 Building

Rilan Hemworth POV

Well, I guess I ended up in the Hunger Games. How about that? I wonder what the girls will say…man am I always this stuck up? I have good reason to, I'm a popular man. I picked up the pencil they left and fiddled with it, spinning it on my finger, watching the clock tick. It had been one hour and fifty-nine minutes since they dumped me in here. I wonder if they had any morphling in the Hunger Games?

The clock chimed. Finally, my family. Or, at least part of them showed up. My dad and sister were here. "Where's mom?" was my first question.

Dad shook his head. "She…couldn't handle it. She said to tell you she loves you, and here's your token, to save us a trip." He handed me a bag, which I promptly opened, now curious. The token my mom sent me was a small pocket watch on a chain. It was my grandfather's watch, and it brought back good memories, along with sad thoughts.

*flashback*

"Grandpa, can I have it?" I was fascinated with the shiny watch hanging from my grandfather's tuxedo.

"No, Rilan, not yet."

I made a face, unhappy with this statement. "So I have to wait an hour?"

He chuckled, obviously amused at my disappointment. "No, Rilan, when I'm old and gone, you may have it. Tonight, I need to wear it to impress your grandma." He winked. He was the one who taught me about ladies, so I understood.

Grandpa and I had a good relationship, and I hung on his arm all night. From then on, I was always best friends with my grandfather.

If I had the watch, my grandfather must be dead. "Well, that's a pleasant way to start the Hunger Games." I said.

My sister gave me a big hug, and I sighed. I was going to the Hunger Games and there was no turning back. We chatted for a little while, and then it was time for them to leave. "Bye, guys. And please, for your sake, remember, I am not who you will see on that screen. It's what the Games will make me be."

District 7 Building

Stark Logger POV

I sat, unhappy, on the yucky couch the Capitol provided. It had been two hours, more, and no one had shown up. Not that I was surprised, I had no family left. My parents are dead, and my older sisters were killed in these stupid games. I'm happy I was chosen, happy I can go to my death and not face everyone else every day.

Who freaking cares about these stupid games anyway? The Capitol, that's who. I slipped my pen out of my pocket and stabbed the paper before me. I would do anything to escape the unbearable silence in the room. I screamed. Loud and hard, and it felt good.

No one came. Not that I was surprised, no one cares anyways. So I decided to plan my strategy. It had to be cunning, and devious, and ensure that I would win. I would have to start by making allies. I had to appear as friendly and valuable as possible. High training scores were important to achieve that. Even if I end up ditching them…or killing them. Perfect. Trust was the key, I would get them to trust me and then kill them.

How would I survive long enough, though? I would have to get them to protect me, to believe that I was the key to winning these games. To lead me away from the Cornucopia, find me water, make me king in these ridiculous games. These stupid, stupid games.

I threw a rock I had in my pocket at the security camera. It broke, and flashed electricity. But no one came. Not that I was surprised, why would they care? So I would win, then. Make them all care, and then show them that I can be someone other than a person who was labeled as crazy.

I can win, and I will win. I took a hairpin out of my pocket and fiddled with it, trying to find some way to jack the electrical socket and take it out of the wall. I could destroy this whole place right now, and no one would ever call me crazy. They would respect me. Call me king.

But I wouldn't do that. I would bide my time and show them on TV. I screamed to let my anger out. But no one came. Not that I was surprised.

District 8 Building

Aubrie Mahora POV

I took my purple and silver hairpin out of my hair, fiddling with it nervously. I shouldn't be scared. For heaven's sake, my nickname was "The Needle." I was accurate, deadly, and not afraid to do what I have to.

I still can't believe I got reaped. My name was only in the bowl five times, as compared to others who had it in at least 20 times, or more. Echo's dad was the freaking mayor, of course I didn't need tesserae!

Echo…Echo…I smiled. I met Echo when I was eight. He jumped over my backyard fence, trying to escape from some evil tracker-jackers. Luckily, I had my dart gun with me, and shot them all. He was so grateful he said he would do anything for me. I told him to be my friend.

Then my father, a stuck-up Peacekeeper shot my mother because she was in the forest looking for food. My world was no longer the same. She was the one person I could trust, and now I had no one. One day I was so mad, I made plans to murder him. I wasn't going to carry them out, but he found them and ran away to the Capitol.

Echo's parents took me in. Echo's mom was a very successful seamstress, and Echo's dad was the mayor. I had everything I could possibly want, except someone to trust. Echo and I slowly grew closer, and I trusted him more and more. My life became happier, better, and I slowly started to heal. At least, until I got sentenced to a brutal death on TV.

Now, Echo was here, and I ran to his arms. "Echo," I said, my face buried in his jacket. He stroked my hair reassuringly.

"Don't worry, my little needle, everything will be alright. You'll come back." I trusted Echo so much now, I could almost believe his words. He took my hairpin out of my hands. "Here." The beautiful hairpin he made me slid perfectly into my hair, sweeping it out of my face and revealing my blotchy cheeks. His parents weren't there, and we sat down, staying together until it was almost time for him to go. "I have to tell you now, Aubrie. I love you. Not just as my sister. I want you to come back for me, okay?"

"Okay." My voice barely squeaked out the words. "I love you too."

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If this chapter featured your character, be sure to give me feedback on if I accurately portrayed them or not. Some of them turned out longer than others, that's just the way it goes.**

**This story now has a FORUM :D-The 28****th**** Hunger Games. The forum has a poll about the arena and a list of sponsor points. More will be coming soon. Don't forget it's not too late to submit a mentor, but if I don't get them before next chapter, the train ride, I will create them. Stylists have a bit longer, until after training.**

**New way to earn sponsor points: Create a topic on the forum! It has to be an actual topic relating to the story, not just "Hi, I created this for points." It's worth ****30**** points, so get creating!**

**The review button doesn't bite. I promise.**

**I obviously don't own The Hunger Games.**

**~dimitrisgirl18~**


	6. Districts 9 to 12 Train Ride

District 9 Train

Fletcher Ross POV

The world blurred quickly together as the train took off from the platform. I ran to the back, waving out my window until my mom, dad, and brother were nothing but a distant memory. I knew that unless I made it back, which I wouldn't, that would be the last time I would see them in what was left of the 17 years I have lived. That was something I had come to terms with. I guess you could say I had a death wish, as long as I died for someone who was a good person.

Sighing, I made my way to the central room of the train. It was really a luxury train, there had to be at least five rooms for the tributes' use alone. Between bedrooms, bathrooms (yes, there were actually bathrooms on the train), living rooms and dining rooms, you could get lost on this train. I did so on purpose, so no one would find me.

I hid in one of the unused bedrooms that had a TV and turned on the mandatory Capitol viewing station. Just in time, the reapings were on. Bringing out the pad of paper and pen that I had with me, I turned up the volume loud enough to hear, but not loud enough to be heard. The sad celebrations began and I took notes on each of the tributes, watching their general profiles after the reapings. I also noted the important things that could make them potential candidates or bloodbath victims. The good and the bad, the reaping situation, you name it, I wrote it.

It was important to do this, to find someone worthy of dying for. If my life was to be wasted carelessly by the Capitol, it would be so a truly good person could walk free, hopefully unscathed. That did not, however, mean I would just throw myself in front of this person. I would make sure we both survived as long as possible. But that person had yet to be found.

I watched the girl from One volunteer for her little sister, her fire red hair sweeping elegantly across her shoulders. She looked innocent enough. The boy, on the other hand, was the typical volunteer-overconfident and brimming with ego.

The boy from Two seemed like a true Career: manipulative. Actually, so did the girl from Two. They would survive on their own.

There was a definite connection between the boy and girl from Three, whether friendly or romantic, I couldn't tell. They were both so young, probably carefree until the Hunger Games sentenced them to death.

The original girl tribute from Four appeared to be engaged or married from the ring on her finger. Her sister volunteered, and looked to be about 16. She was probably strong, tough, a real contender. The boy from Four looked out of place. Poor guy.

The boy from Five looked like he would have no trouble getting sponsors with his winning attitude. The profiles said he had no family left. The girl looked small and weak, but I could tell there was something fiercer underneath her shell.

As for Six, neither of the tributes looked overly drugged this year, which was a first. I could sense that they wouldn't last long, but hey, I've been wrong before.

In Seven, they young boy tribute looked like he was devoid of all emotion, and the girl looked like she was just hiding behind a tough exterior when she volunteered for a little girl who was presumably a friend she took under her wing.

The girl from Eight had a naïve look about her, almost making you want to give her a comforting hug. The boy, though looking a little shell-shocked, had an easygoing, yet nervous reaction to his name being pulled out of the bowl of fate.

Then I saw myself, otherwise known as the boy from Nine, climb the stage. After my name was called, it was my District partner, a girl who I knew from experience was not to be messed with.

In Ten, the boy and girl looked frightened, but I could tell that from their muscles and attitudes, they could survive for a while.

Eleven had a fairly good turnout, the boy looked average, but the girl definitely stood out. She looked like a contender, possibly able to win it all, but she looked inexperienced, still unaware of the reality of the Games. She volunteered for what was said to be a close friend's daughter. That said, she didn't look like she needed any help.

Last, Twelve, who usually had scrawny kids, had a good turnout, too. The girl looked like she could hold her own, and the boy, though a look of deep disturbance was worn upon his young face, could probably match me in a fight.

I finished my notes and shut off the television. Closing my eyes and laying back on the bed, I groaned. Now that I knew these people, I had to go kill them. Yay.

District 10 Train

Zander Lox POV

The reality slammed into me as the train lurched forward. Oh, wait, maybe that was just my breakfast. Yep, that was it.

The announcement over the PA couldn't have come at a better time. It was lunch. I finally got to meet my district partner. Her name was Anna Moore, and she was a skinny, wiry thing with brown hair and brown eyes. How bland. She did, however, seem to want to talk a lot.

I looked over the menus nervously. I had no clue what half of this stuff was. What the heck was "escargot"? It sounded good, so I ordered it.

"So, kids, aren't you so excited for this year?" asked our escort, a bubbly woman named Sally. Ugh. She had hair that was at least two distinctive colors, purple and yellow, and the rest was just rainbow and tie-dye. This was only her second year with District 10, and her third year overall. She had District 12 her first year, like all newbies do.

Thankfully, our food arrived, saving Anna and me from answering. First, Anna was served. She got a simple cheeseburger, but I could tell that the meat had been frozen, because it didn't look fresh like at home. She said it tasted even better. Then Sally got her food. The chef called it veal. "What's veal?" Anna asked, her mouth full.

"It's a fish, darling." said Sally condescendingly. I could tell from the way she said "darling" she didn't really mean it.

At last, my escargot arrived. When it was put in front of me, I wrinkled my nose. It smelled horrible and looked even worse. "What is this, snails?" The shells, or at least what I thought were shells, were sticking out of whatever was underneath.

The chef looked surprised. "Why yes, escargot is a fancy name for snails. You didn't know that?"

I shook my head no, unable to speak.

"Do you want something else?" he asked sympathetically.

I shook my head yes, and pointed to Anna's plate, which was almost empty.

He took mine away and disappeared into the kitchen. Now done, Anna started talking again. "To answer your question, Sally, I don't think any of the tributes are truly excited. The Hunger Games are a dangerous place to be."

She shrugged. "Half of them volunteered. I think they know what they're getting into."

I heard the sound of swinging doors and smiled. Some real food, now. The cheeseburger was placed in front of me. I took a bite and smiled. Now this, this was heaven. I gave the chef a thumbs-up and returned to eating while the ladies debated. I could tell Anna wasn't on Sally's good side when she stood up, threw down her napkin, and walked away from the table, her half-finished veal still steaming.

I shrugged at Anna and kept eating. She simply rolled her eyes and left the table, her plate clean. It was just me now in this big dining room, eating a cheeseburger, riding down the road to my death. My life could be a song.

District 11 Train

Ivy Fields POV

I heard the noise of the train even in my room that was supposed to be soundproof. I guess you could just never escape some things. The noise of the train. My mother coming to hit me. My father trying to come back into my life. The fact that death was getting closer with every piece of track under the train wheels.

Looking back on my day, I realized that this morning could have been the last time that I would ever see my mother or father. It didn't really matter, anyway. My mother hated me; she believed I was the reason for my father leaving. Hah. See if he comes back after I die. My father was a Peacekeeper. He cared for no one. The only thing I ever got from him was money, but I decided after a while that I wouldn't take it.

The train moved on, towards the arena where I would meet my death. Better me than Poppy, though. Poppy was the 13 year old daughter of a good man named Ragweed. The death of his daughter would have killed him, so I volunteered. It was a death sentence for anyone, anyways. We in District 11 barely get enough food to live on, let alone be strong. The few victors in our District had told the children that the food the Capitol gave you before and after the Games, if you survived, was unlike anything else. We hadn't gotten lunch yet, so their claim had yet to be proven.

Laying down on my bed, I turned my head just enough so that I could see my reflection in the television. I never really liked looking in the mirror. I look too much like my father. Whereas most other people in 11 have dark skin, the Peacekeepers and their families have light or olive colored skin. My olive skin was a dead giveaway to my past. The kids at school ignored me, something I couldn't stand. I hate people who judge before they hear the whole story. That said, I didn't bother to tell my story to many people anyways.

I jumped, unaware that it was time for the mandatory Capitol TV viewing, and the TV flickered to life. The reapings were on. I watched all of them, noting in my mind which ones could possibly be allies, and which ones I would have to stay away from, otherwise they would stab me in the back, both figuratively and literally.

The reapings were off sooner than I could comprehend the entirety of them. I sighed, sitting up lazily. All of this, the TV, the bed, the nice accommodations, would be gone within a few more hours. The Gamemakers would have me under their thumb, bending me to comply with what they wanted to see. The Capitol was even worse, as they could control the Gamemakers and their decisions.

I have learned not to trust anyone, let alone the Capitol. I consider these Games as a test for me, a test to see if I can make an alliance, a test to see if I can outsmart the Capitol and return to revel in their money. I hope I can.

District 12 Train

Ben Embers POV

Juliette was in the Hunger Games? My Juliette? No, it had to be someone else. But her last name was Starmite, and those dark green eyes…it had to be her. I can't believe it. I thought back to the days when I knew her. She probably wouldn't recognize me at first now, but she hadn't changed a bit. Her black hair still fell just above her elbows. Her parents wanted it to be shorter, but she always liked it longer. She probably still does. Her soft pink lips still looked full and kissable…

When I first met Juliette, I was a scraggly runaway from District 12. Underfed, overworked, even at a young age, just like everyone there. We were both only six, but we were best friends. We made a pinkie promise to be that way forever. I lived right next door to her, and my family made a good living in District 3. I thought everything was perfect. A pretty girl, a happy family, what more could a six year old want? We lived there for a few years, until after I turned ten, when the Peacekeepers did a check of everyone living in the Districts. We were reported as missing in District 12, and as extras in District 3. Of course, we were prosecuted and returned to our District. I left Juliette without so much as a goodbye. The day before, we had been on the swings in the local park. She gave me a flower, a daisy, if I remember correctly, and giggled. She ran away, waving over her shoulder, the blood rushing to her cheeks, forming a perfect blush. That was the last time I saw her. And I was about to see her again, in circumstances I never imagined.

Our mentor came into the room and announced that it was time for dinner. I nodded, and told her that I would be there in a minute. Her name was Cassius Nevermore, and she was really nice. Our escort wasn't bad, either. She had a surprising lack of a Capitol accent. I walked into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face, then dried it with a towel. They actually had running water and showers on this train. I didn't know what a shower was until Cassius explained it to me. It's basically water coming out of a round thing in droplets, but it goes really fast. And they have hot water, too. It's amazing. It must cost the Capitol a fortune, though.

I went out to the dining room, one of two on the train. I got lost earlier, went to the wrong one and almost missed lunch. Dinner was ordered from a menu. I really didn't know what to get, so I ordered a "hamburger." It was good. It was meat with cheese and vegetables on bread. When I asked the chef what kind of meat it was, he looked at me funny and went back into the kitchen.

My district partner's name was Katerina Thorne. She was 17, and I recognized her from around town. Although she was a bit reserved, when she spoke she was clever and quick. I could tell she had some strength and wits, and I definitely didn't mind her being my District partner. She ate pretty well, too. Actually, everyone did, even Cassius. The escort just looked at us like we were crazy while we were wolfing down our food. A good, hearty meal is rare, almost nonexistent, in District 12, so we were eating like we'd never seen food. We don't really, or at least not much of it, and who knows if Katerina or I would make it out of the arena alive.

Dinner was finished without much conversation on anyone's part. Katerina and our escort quickly retired to bed, and Cassius promised to follow, moving out to the central room to relax. After cleaning my plate and a few other baskets of food because I couldn't bear to see them go to waste, I decided it was a good idea for me to get some sleep, too. I changed into some pajamas that were in the closet and splashed some more water on my face. I would get up early and try to take one of those shower things. I climbed into bed, not sure if I was ready for what tomorrow would bring. Settling in, I realized I had forgotten to turn off the light, and was about to get up and go turn it off, when I saw Cassius in the doorway. "Goodnight." she said with a smile. And the lights turned off, plunging me into pitch dark and leaving me to my dreams.

A/N: Yes, it's been quite a while, but because of the holidays it's been a while since I could write. I apologize many times over! New way to earn sponsor points-answer a question at the end of each chapter for 10 points. New way to earn sponsor points-post on a forum topic for 5 points. (no crazy posting or topicing :D) Hope you all had a great Christmas and good wishes for 2011.

_What are the names of the three people on Katniss's prep team?_


	7. Prep and Chariot Rides

Juliette Starmite, District 3 Girl POV

"Up! Get up!" I heard the shrill voice of my escort through my closed door. What a way to wake up. Groggily, I halfheartedly threw my pillow at the door before realizing it was still closed. I thought she would have opened it. Sighing, I realized that I wasn't doing anyone any good just laying here, so I untangled myself from the sheets before heading into the bathroom. A real bathroom, too, not just plain ones. Fully stocked ones, complete with a walk-in shower and luxury soaps that were probably from District One.

The walls were a beautiful green color, painted like some pictures of the ocean I had seen when they passed through District Four on our way to the Capitol. What many people didn't know is that District Four is actually closer to the Capitol that District Three, but in such a place that we got name District Three. Meaning that if you looked at a map, we were to the left of District Four, but directly above District Six. One was above Two, Two was above Four, which is to the right of Three, Four is above Five, which is to the right of District Six, Five is above Seven, Seven above Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve. I excelled in geography class.

I turned on the shower, not caring if I missed breakfast. The steam fogged up the glass, and I decided to get in. Warm water felt wonderful, and I probably stayed in there for too long. When you're on a train that has an endless supply of hot water, you tend to go overboard.

Once the water was off, I gently towel-dried my hair and put it in a ponytail. I got dressed in a midnight blue t-shirt and real denim jeans, then used a little makeup, which my mom would never have let me do. I figured my prep team would take it off, anyways. I picked up the pillow, tossed it onto my bed, and opened the door. I was ready for anything they might throw at me. Except for the Reapings. I didn't want to watch my reaction and know what was going on inside my head. We went to sleep early so we could get up early, in order to get up before arriving at the Capitol.

"Morning, everyone." I said, eyeing the breakfast on the table.

"Morning, Juliette. How'd you sleep?" asked one of our mentors, Hoptel Dabbs. She was a skinny thing, victor of the 19th Hunger Games.

"Good." I said. Actually, that was far from the truth. My dreams had been littered with monsters, mutations and bloodthirsty tributes from past Games. But I didn't want to weigh anyone down with my nightmares.

Sitting down at the table, I noticed only four of the five members of our group were present. I was here, Hoptel was here, our other mentor Peter was here, and our escort Tivia was here. Jack, however, was not present. I shook my head. He always was one for sleeping in. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Jack Sandstorm walked into the room, looking like he had just been sentenced to die. I mentally checked myself. He _had_ been sentenced to die.

"Hi." I said plainly. We had been friends since we were ten, the year after…a friend left. A year of finishing each other's thoughts made us able to understand everything the other is feeling with just one word. After a year, I started hanging out with other people, and we gradually melted apart. I became well-liked, almost popular. He became anti-social, almost goth.

"Nightmares?" he whispered under the scraping of forks on plates. I nodded. He reached over and rubbed my hand. "It'll be alright." I nodded again. I knew that Jack would protect me in the arena, that's just the way he is. He's never said anything, but I have a feeling that he feels something more. I just don't know what I feel. I still remember that friend. I was only nine, almost ten. It wasn't fair.

Breakfast went quickly, and just when I thought last night's dinner couldn't compare to anything, I lied. Breakfast was even better. "So," started Hoptel, out of the blue. "I'd like to know. Do you two want to be coached separately or together?"

A quick glance at Jack confirmed my answer. "Together." we said at the same time.

"Good. That makes it easier. Do either of you have any special skills?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, I can use a dagger." I said immediately. I became skilled in the art of the dagger when someone broke into my family's house and…a friend taught me how to use weapons. Although it was determined that I failed horrifically with a bow and arrow, I'm now able to use a dagger to cut off someone's head, circulation, or pierce the heart in less than four seconds. I was timed by…a friend.

Jack smirked. I knew he was remembering the time when I was home alone and he came in without knocking. I almost killed him before I actually looked at his face. "Yeah. She can. I vouch for that." I kicked him in the leg. Hard. "Ow, Juliette!"

"Sorry." I said innocently.

He sighed. "I'm good with throwing things. Spears, daggers, knives, anything to be thrown."

"That's just fine. You guys can improve on your talents in the Training Center. One thing to be aware of: save your best for the Gamemakers. Don't let anyone but us know what you're really good at." Hoptel cautioned us. "Now, since we skipped the Reapings last night, we'll have enough time this morning to go over them."

As if he was lurking around the corner, and he probably was, an attendant appeared. "Three hours until we arrive in the Capitol. Do you require anything?"

"No." said Peter. "We'll be okay." The attendee left, and Tivia turned on the TV. Hoptel had somehow produced a notebook and pen, and wrote '**District One'** across the top of the first page. I watched all of the children who were going to die, the Careers from One, Two, and Four, Jack and I from Three, the average children from Five, Six, Eight, and Nine, the strong ones from Seven and Ten, and one emaciated child from Eleven. The other child from Eleven, Ivy, I think was her name, looked strong and tough. I wanted her on my side.

"Hoptel, can you make a note next to Ivy? I want her as an ally." I asked. Jack vigorously nodded his head in agreement. Hoptel's pen flew across the page one more time, and then stopped, in acknowledgement of our request. It looked like everyone was on the same page. Ivy was one to be on her good side.

It was District Twelve that caught my eye. The girl tribute looked fierce. "Katerina Thorne!" was called up to the stage. "I'm honored to be here." she said.

"Now, for the boy tribute!" Freesia Canterlin's hand swirled around the bowl exactly four times before picking a piece of paper. "The boy tribute is…" she paused for dramatic effect. "Ben Embers!" And that was when my whole world came crashing down. Ben was in the Hunger Games? My Ben? No, it had to be someone else. But his last name was Embers, and those dark, almost black eyes…it had to be him. I thought he was dead, I thought he left me. I lost my only friend when I was nine, and _he_ was my only friend. He's alive. But he's going to be dead. I tried to tell myself it didn't matter, he was probably changed, and I thought he was dead anyways. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter.

But it did.

Marissa Lionheart, District 4 Girl POV

I felt the train come to a gentle, lulling stop and saw the Capitol citizens cheering outside, elated that another District's tributes had arrived. I climbed out, waving happily to them, smiling and putting on my best face. According to my reason for volunteering, I did it for the glory. The fame. The money. But I thought of what I had gotten myself into and wished I'd let Azure go instead. She wouldn't know Dad. She wouldn't have to face him.

My messed up family. My messed up family, who I think of every second. My mother, Bay Quaid, scarred but remarried. My step-father, Beck Quaid, a doctor and a great father, unlike the one I never had. My step-sister Skylynn, who has always hated me on the outside but broke down when I volunteered for Azure. Remus and Romulus, my brothers who are twins, and remember Dad before he left. Caspian, my brother who also remembers Dad, who tells me about him, who hangs out with me, the only sibling I ever really trusted. Azure, my sweet, beautiful, innocent step-sister who is getting married in three months. The girl I volunteered for. My half-sister Annabeth, who follows in Skylynn's footsteps of dislike, but cannot stop hating me and will be childishly happy if I die. My half-siblings Millie and Brady, only the cutest and kindest children that ever lived.

My father, Callum Lionheart, victor of the 2nd Hunger Games, lives on the other side of town in the Victor's Village with his new wife and new kids, who just add to my mixed-up life. It didn't really help clear my thoughts when my dad volunteered to mentor these Games. They didn't make such a big deal out of it because I had never lived in the Victor's Village, nor been introduced to the press. He left when I was little, too little to know the outside world, or even just him.

"C'mon, kiddo. Move it along, your prep team is waiting for you inside." my dad said in his gruff voice. Although he may seem unfriendly at first, I could tell he was trying to make up for never being there, never being a dad. He was trying to guide me. When Moray and I decided we wanted to be coached separately, my dad volunteered to mentor me instead of Moray. Loraine, the other mentor, is now stuck with Moray, who looked like he'd never had a day of training in his life.

As soon as I was in the Remake Center, Floor Four, my eager prep team gathered around me. "Ooh, look at her nails! Have they ever been properly manicured?"

"Her complexion! She's so tan, she's almost burnt." said the man, who had purple skin and bright blue tattoos.

"And this hair!" One of the ladies fingered my long brown ringlets. "It has to go. I'd say shoulder-length, and straighten it out, too."

"No!" I pulled away from them. "Leave me be! Aren't you just here to dress me up?"

The lady who was now once again focused on my nails said "No, darling, that's your stylist's job. Magnificence won't like it, not one bit. Something just has to be done with these nails! Bitten, worn, what have you done to them?"

"Now, now." cautioned the man. "We've been rude, Shaylia! I'm Opulous, this is Shaylia, and this-" he motioned to the woman who wanted to cut my beautiful hair. "-is Breecia. We're your prep team!" They began to work on my body, ordering me to strip down. When I hesitated, Opulous just said "We're going to see it anyways, darling. Just do it." I did.

Shaylia set right to work manicuring my nails, painting delicate ocean waves on a sunset background. It was hard to believe that it was possible to get that kind of accuracy on such a small canvas.

Opulous smothered my face in something yellowy called honey. He then made me get in a bath of some sort which almost scalded me, but succeeded in removing all of my body hair except for my eyebrows, which were then painfully waxed.

Breecia refrained from cutting my hair, but instead ran a straightening iron through my bangs, the only thing I would let her touch. She sprayed some kind of mist in my hair and fluffed it with a gel. She said my curly hair and straight bangs had "wonderful complementation of each other."

After that, they mostly talked to me about parties and how Elia did this and Shonyn said this to her and then she went and told Nivia who called Asius and told him what they did who broke up with Rainie.

A quiet creak of a door was heard as a lady entered the room. Tall and graceful, she looked to be about thirty-three, maybe a little younger. "Thank you, Shaylia, Opulous, Breecia." she said. "You can go now. You've done an excellent job."

They blushed in embarrassment. "Aw, it was nothing!" said Shaylia.

"Our pleasure!" added Breecia.

"Bye, darling!" Opulous winked at me and left the room.

The lady smiled as if she was watching a child play in the snow. "They're so naïve, aren't they?" she asked me. "I'm Magnificence, your stylist. Your prep team did a great job, but I'm afraid there's something we're going to have to do."

"What?" I asked, almost afraid. If it was something my prep team didn't already do, I'd be surprised.

"We've got to get that hair cut."

"NO!" I almost shouted. My hands instinctively flew to my hair. "You're not cutting my hair."

"Just an inch."

"No. Not any hair. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada."

"Just an inch. You won't even notice it!"

"But I'll know it's missing, I'll know it's shorter!"

"Just an inch, darling. Please."

"No."

"A half inch?"

"No."

"Just one ringlet?"

"No."

"Can I put it in a bun?"

There was a pause as I debated this. "I suppose so. But you can't cut any of it."

"Alright." Magnificence went to work, just like my prep team, her skillful hands twisting through my hair, hefting it up into a bun, leaving one ringlet hanging on each side. Instructing me to close my eyes, she lowered a light, airy fabric over my body. I felt something, a necklace, probably, go around my neck, and things on my arms. Something was dropped in front of me that made a clunking noise, then I was misted again, but this time the mist was good-smelling.

"Open, but don't look in the mirror. Slip into your shoes first. Then look." she said.

I did so, and looked in the mirror. A goddess looked back at me. I realized that my costume was drawing on an ancient legend from a civilization known as Greek. Their goddess Aphrodite was said to be born from the sea. I was wearing a silver toga with shades of blue, green, and gold shimmering in it, and when I moved, it looked like the waves of the ocean. My shoes were flats, made of the same fabric rouched at the top. A blue gem drop necklace fell perfectly into the hollow of my throat, and gold and silver bangles lined my arms. The bun with a ringlet on each side of my face completed the look.

Breaking the spell, Magnificence said "Your District partner is Poseidon. You're Aphrodite, if you haven't figured it out."

I was unable to respond, stunned at the beautifulness of my costume, yet the simplicity of it. "It's perfect." I whispered. "Perfect."

Sayria Nell, District 7 Girl POV

I twirled twice, gaping at myself in the mirror. I looked like a fairy. Correction, like a wood sprite. My stylist Livette was a genius. For the past eight years, every tribute from District Seven has been dressed as a tree. Obviously, Livette was new, and she brought her new ideas to our District.

I had on a floor-length ballroom gown with a sweetheart neckline. It was deep chocolate brown, with green swirls that somewhat resembled branches all across it, back to front. The sleeves that connected to the bodice were long and draping past my arms on the bottom. My normally short black hair had wavy extensions in it, making my hair tumble down to the middle of my back. My shoes looked like they were made of leaves, but in reality it was just a crinkly green fabric over a high heel. Fuchsia and dark green ribbons trailed down from a thin headband over my hair. My whole outfit sparkled with glitter.

"Thank you, Livette." I said, spinning once more.

She simply smiled in response, and held out a wand. Or at least, I assumed it was a wand. It was a wooden stick, with a hollow star shape at the end. It, too, had fuchsia and green ribbons hanging off of it. I took it, fingering it delicately. I raised my arm to wave it and Livette's hand shot out, holding it steady.

"Ah, ah, ah." she said. "Don't wave it until you're halfway through, you'll be in front of the marble statue of our founders, and it will be where the crowd starts curving to the left. By that time, District Nine will have just left the hold."

"Okay," I said, assuming she had a good reason. Over the past half hour Livette and I had spent together, we had become good friends. Even though she was from the Capitol, she didn't have the accent and she was one of the kindest people I'd ever met. Although her whimsical personality was perfectly reflected in my sprite costume, she had a sense of herself that was refreshing. In the only two places I've ever been, District Seven and the Capitol, I had yet to find someone like her. "Thanks again."

"It's my job. Now come on, we'd better get going." She put her hand to her ear, where an earpiece was. "District One is prepping for takeoff."

I smiled. Livette was on top of things. She hurried me out through the hallway, and into the elevator, where she put on the finishing touch to my outfit: my district token. A small gold pendant given to me by Jane, the little girl I volunteered for. I took her under my wing when the kids at school teased her. One threat and they shut up. Since then, she has hung out with me every day, and is the one thing that keeps me going on hard days. She's only twelve, and didn't even have any slips in for tesserae. I did.

My parents would have never let me sign up, but they're gone, and there's nothing I can do about it. My brother, who is twenty-six, is laid off from his lumber job and is currently trying his hand at building things, but hasn't gotten very far yet. We needed tesserae. I faced the fact that I would probably be in the games, seeing as I am seventeen and have had tesserae slips since I was thirteen.

Shaking away the grim thoughts that came with the grim day, I composed my face in time to step out of the elevator and meet my District partner, Stark. He seemed too composed, too calm. He was too…creepy. I was, to be truthful, afraid of him, and he was only thirteen. There were a lot of thirteen year olds in the Games this year. Both of the tributes from Three were thirteen, both of the tributes from District Ten were thirteen, and the girl was going to turn fourteen in a few days. What an unlucky time to have a birthday. Stark was thirteen, and the boy from Twelve was thirteen.

I almost laughed out loud when I saw Stark's costume. He was a wood sprite just like me, but looked like a guy pixie. He had on a brown hat with a small cylinder like brown material sticking out of it, just like a pixie hat. His shirt was dark green, almost brownish, and his pants were knee length brown pants that were jagged at the bottom. His shoes were brown, and curled over at the top. For his "wand," he had a small branch that still had leaves on it. He did look very handsome, for a thirteen year old.

"Alright, final makeup." said Stark's stylist, a man who looked to be about sixty. "Hi, Sayria, I'm Jack." He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you." It turned out that both Livette and Jack had been working together for five years in another District, but requested District Seven when our stylists retired this year.

Jack powdered my face, and added some glitter lotion to it, and when they allowed me to look in the mirror, my face sparkled just like my dress. I had dark pink eye shadow on, along with something black that made my eyelashes appear longer. Stark didn't get much makeup, just a little bit of blush so his face didn't seem pale among the bright lights.

Our escort, a plump man named Seth, bustled over and seemed to be listening to an earpiece similar to Livette's. "Let's get this show on the road!" he said. I climbed up onto the golden chariot, artfully decorated with braches, leaves, vines, and ribbons. Stark climbed up on my right, and we sat in the seat, waiting until we were near the entrance to stand up. As the chariot slowly rolled forward, we got little notes from everyone walking alongside us.

"Don't forget the wands!" Livette shouted over the roar of the Capitol crowd.

"And wave!" added Jack.

"Smile like you're actually happy, Stark!" said Seth. We all laughed, even Stark, who seemed to take the insult slash hint very good naturedly.

"Will do!" he said. And then we were out. We stood up, smiling for all we were worth and waving. The crowd oohed and aahed at my dress, and cheered for Jack's spritelike qualities. I edged closer to Jack, using his short demeanor to my advantage. His shoulder only reached up to my elbow, and I put my arm around him. Noticing that we were halfway, I squeezed his shoulder.

"Wave."

And we waved our wands for all we were worth, which was nothing to the Capitol. I waved mine eloquently, as if I was presiding as queen over the forests of my District. He waved his a little awkwardly, as if not quite sure what to do with it. All of the sudden, without any warning like a warming of the wands, or a small noise, our wands sparked. Pink sparks shot out of mine, green out of Jack's. They were big, long sparks, taunting the Capitol crowd as they went all the way to the stands, then fizzled.

They cheered even louder, elated that we had made such a big appearance. Some threw roses onto our chariot. Some shouted "Bravo! Bravo District Seven!" "I love you Sayria!" "Jack!" Glancing for the first time at the big screen, I noticed we were competing for time with a few different scenes. Districts Two and Three were big competitors, and they were showing District Four equally as much as us. They showed each District as they came out, but always came back to Districts Three, Four, or Seven.

Three's tributes were dressed in some sort of electrical getup. The girl, whose name was Juliette, if I remember, was dressed in a slim dress that was laced with glowing wires. The boy, Jack, had on a similar suit. They made a dazzling appearance. I smiled slightly to myself at the joke. Dazzling, electrical, District Three. I smiled wider, and the crowd cheered louder.

Four's tributes looked like something I vaguely remembered from an old myth. Something about an ancient civilization's gods and goddesses…oh, yeah! Aphrodite and Poseidon. Greek gods. Poseidon was god of the sea, and Aphrodite was said to be born from the waves. Marissa did look like a wave. Her dress was more like a toga, and was the exact color of the sea I had seen while passing through District Four. The boy, Moray, just looked like royalty, as king of the sea. Well, we all had our own domains, I thought, smiling yet again at an ironic costume choice.

Districts One and Two had the gem/expensive fabric thing going on as usual, Districts Five and Six both went for the "doctor/nurse" look, District Nine had a rural charm look, Ten was dressed up in ragged clothing, nothing memorable, and Eleven's tributes had on orange suits that were meant to represent vegetables, I think. Twelve had their kids dressed up like coal miners, though neither tribute seemed very happy, which was understandable.

District Eight's tributes were dressed in what can only be described as a mix of fabrics. The sleeves were fuzzy looking, the top was silky, the bottom looked to be cotton, and their shoes were made of a material I had never seen. It was kind of funny. The boy seemed to go along with it, being very amiable and playing the crowd. The girl, however, I think her name was Aubrie, was staring daggers behind her, probably at her stylist. Her hands were twitching as if she wanted to grab a weapon right now. She most likely did.

I felt sorry for her, and shot her a glance. To my surprise, she softened, and her look read "Thanks. Thank you so much. Can we talk later?" It was amazing how much a single look from her could convey. She was still…mad, but at least waved to the crowd for the rest of the time.

When we finally got off the chariot, I was hustled to the elevator by Seth, Livette, and Jack. They were telling me how great I was, and how great Stark was. I really tuned them out. The last thing I saw before the elevator doors closed was Aubrie, still in her hideous outfit, mouth "Allies?"

And the last thing I did before they closed was nod my head.

* * *

**A/N: Sayria and Aubrie...? You'll have to wait and see! :D So, I hope you liked that chapter, please review, because you all know how happy that makes me. Besides, I fixed the review button and it doesn't bite anymore. **

**DG has two important things to say.**

**1) DG would like a beta! Only request is that the beta not mind DG's erratic updating schedule.**

**2) DG would like the creator of Saul Roman Giovanni to message her with the tribute sheet because she lost it. D: If you can't find it, you can make a new one. I don't even know who you are because I lost your username too... Sorry! Whoever you are, you get an extra 20 sponsor points because I'm such a jerk.**

**Anyways, I'll leave you to review now! Don't forget to check out the forum for this story for sponsor point tallies (which I am updating today) and discussions. Posts get you five points each. May the odds be ever in your favor.**

**~DG~**


	8. Training Day One: Allies and Threats

Rose Shea, District 2 POV

I woke up to sunlight streaming through my window. I pushed the covers off of my body and took a quick shower. I wasn't one for all the fancy soaps and what not, so I pretty much just let the water run over my body. When I was done, I changed into the dark green jumpsuit-like training outfit that had been left out for me.

When I walked out, I saw my District partner Kale was already up, but it was just us. No mentors, no stylists, no anybody. I grabbed a glass of orange juice and a plate of eggs and toast. Not fancy cuisine, but just as good as what we get at home. To my surprise, Kale walked over and actually _sniffed_ me. I recoiled.

"What the heck was that for?" I asked.

"I heard the shower going. I thought you would smell nice." he said, amused.

"There's a difference between wanting to be clean and wanting to smell like a pansy." I retorted, and went back to eating.

He chuckled lightly, and our mentors walked in. Annabelle Vanderhoff, the younger of the two, was to be our main mentor. Darren Nell, who was about forty, was going to handle sponsors and everything associated. I had to get on both of their good sides. "Morning." said Annabelle nonchalantly. She was just like me. Calm, cool, collected, deadly. I was so glad she was my mentor.

"Morning." said Kale and I at the same time. I blushed, he smiled.

"So, do you guys have a game plan?" asked Darren.

"Nah." said Kale. "Except meet the Careers and scope out possible additions to the pack."

"That sounds like a plan." I said accusingly.

"So what, blondie?" he asked. I scowled at him, making him shut up.

"Hey, you two. Cut it out." said Annabelle. "Do you have a plan, Rose?"

"Yeah, actually. I'm going to go work with swords, than on hand-to-hand. Maybe check out the plants station." I said. I had thought about this all night, still unsure about this whole thing. Should I have volunteered? To be honest, I volunteered to get away from my ex. Was I being childish? Should I have stayed? Could I have lived? I fingered my token, a gem-encrusted laurel given to me by my father. My father. My resolve wavered, than I made my decision. No, I will live. It was not childish. I will stay. As if I had any choice.

"Alright, then." Annabelle walked to the table. "Eat up, you'll need your strength."

By the time we were done eating it was nine o' clock, and time to go down to training. Kale and I reluctantly shared an elevator with the tributes from District Six, Zara and Rilan, as they coolly introduced themselves. Rilan was not-so-discreetly checking me out, and Zara's gaze remained on the elevator doors. When they _dinged_, she walked out, pulling Rilan along behind her and giving both me and Kale nasty looks worthy of a Career. I noted this to Kale.

"We'll have to keep an eye on her." he said. Somehow, I had a feeling it was more than just for Career pack purposes.

Zara Giovanni, District 6 POV

As Rilan and I rode down the elevator with the District Two tributes, I could feel him checking Rose out, and I could see the amusement on her face, as well as Kale's. I wanted to slap them, but when the elevator doors opened, the best I could do was drag Rilan out and give them the nastiest looks imaginable. I heard them whisper something to each other, but I ignored it.

Looking around, I sighed with relief. Almost everyone was here. There was the pretty girl from One, Rainbow-Light, just Rain. Of course, Rose and Kale were here, as well as the Districts Three and Four tributes that made such a splash at the chariots. Wood sprites Sayria and Stark were here, standing with the tributes from Eight, Aubrie and what's-his-name. Districts Five, Nine, Ten, and Twelve were here, each standing separately, and, obviously, Rilan and I. The tributes from District Eleven were missing, though.

As if on cue, the elevator doors opened and those with nothing else to do turned to see who was coming out of them. A Latino boy stormed out, looking angry but frighteningly composed. I believe his name was Saul. An olive-skinned girl followed shortly after, waiting until the doors were completely open. Ivy was her name, and she was rolling her eyes with a slight smile on her face.

The tributes from District Three looked at each other with a look I couldn't quite comprehend. I shook my head, tuning in to the trainer who was standing at the front of our group. "Welcome, boys and girls, to the Training Center for the 28th Hunger Games. As you can see, there are several stations, ranging from archery to hand combat to camouflage. There are a few rules. Don't stay at any one station too long and do _not_ fight any of your fellow tributes. There are assistants on hand if you need a sparring partner. With that-" he swept a hand toward the stations. "-have at it."

Immediately, the Careers headed off to weaponry stations, some motioning for others from different Districts to follow them. The girl Career from Four waved her hand to Rain, inviting her over to the knife-throwing station. They both had thin smiles on their faces. Kale and Rose went over to the sword station, asking the boy from One to join them. The boy from Four, Moray, actually looked around before joining the pack at the sword station, awkwardly picking one up and swinging it, accidentally hitting a rack of towels, sending it knocking over into a trainer. The other Careers laughed at him, and he began to joke, more at ease now. The trainer picked herself up and walked over to teach him how to properly handle a sword.

I looked at Rilan and he shrugged. "Where do you want to go?" he asked me.

I exhaled slowly, judging my options. "Let's stay under the radar today." I told him. "Not too much weaponry. Let's try to learn some useful stuff, like plants or camouflage."

"Learning how to use a weapon is useful," he muttered.

"Hey." I teasingly warned him. "No complaints. You asked for my opinion, I gave it to you."

He held his hands up. "Sorry, sorry."

"You should be. Let's go!" I grabbed his hand once again and nearly skipped over to the plants and berries station, where the bored instructor looked happy to help us. Rilan ruffled my hair like an older brother would. Rilan would fit right in with my family. My little brother Hunter would love him. I sighed. Too bad I would never see my little brother again. "Hey, Rilan." I whispered.

"Yeah?"

"If you get back…home, you know, tell my little brother I miss him, okay?"

He swallowed. "If one of us is going to get home, Zara, I'll make sure it's you."

I had no response, but simply carried on trying to identify berries.

Jay Harrow, District 8 POV

As soon as the head trainer was done with his speech, Aubrie exchanged glances with Sayria, the kind girl from District Seven she had gushed about last night. That was surprising. Aubrie didn't seem like one to open up, as a matter of fact, it took the whole train ride to get her to talk to me, let alone tolerate me. That was saved for chariot prep. Even now, she kind of ignored me.

"Hey, Sayria!" Aubrie said, glancing at the boy with her. "Hi Stark."

"Sup, dude?" I asked him, shaking hands with the five foot boy. He smiled, but it looked like it pained him to do so.

As the girls led us over to the archery station, Stark and I exchanged a few words. All of his family had died, and that must be what kept the permanent solemn expression on his face. We were complete opposites. I joked around and, according to my family, never shut up. He never said a word. In a way, I guess we were as good as friends can get in these Games. We tolerated and respected each other, and by the way the girls were talking excitedly, we were going to be allies soon.

The trainer taught Stark and me to shoot a bow and arrow. Again, we were complete opposites. He sucked at it. I excelled. "Wow." said the trainer. "You haven't done this before?"

"Nope." I smiled charmingly at her. "Never."

Aubrie and Sayria were average at this, so they left us alone to work on our skills and went over to the recently abandoned by the Careers sword station. They each did a little better there. Content that Aubrie was not going to bother me, I made casual banter with Stark. He didn't seem to want to talk much, but that was alright. It gave me a chance to blow some steam. He did, however, seem to be getting angrier by the shoot of every arrow. Frustrated, I guess. I didn't have any similar problems, so I couldn't relate.

I continued with what I was saying. "Anyways, I wonder what kind of arena there will be this year. Wouldn't it be so cool if it was-"

"No. It wouldn't." Stark interrupted, sounding mad. "Would you just shut up for a minute?" He threw down his bow, almost hitting my feet, and stormed off to the knives section, joining two of the Career girls.

"Whoa." I muttered. "Someone's having a bad day."

Saul Giovanni, District 11 POV

I glared angrily at my District partner, Ivy. She seemed to be having a good time at the mace station, swinging them around very accurately and smiling at the person who was there with her, a girl from District Three named Juliette. Actually, Juliette was very good. But it wasn't her I was thinking about, it was Ivy. She had started innocently teasing me earlier, joking that I shared a last name with a girl from District Six. It had turned into being mad at me for making us late. Me! I wasn't the one who took two hours to get ready! Then she wouldn't talk to me on the elevator, pettily giving me the silent treatment, just adding fuel to the burning fire that wants me to get revenge.

I threw my dagger so viciously at the target that its head ripped off. The trainer stared at me in surprise, and I forced myself to cool down, but not before I saw some of the Career pack looking at me. Glad that I had attention, I threw three more, the first two cutting off its arms, and the last one skewering its heart. They looked impressed. I coolly switched stations, passing them by with a coy look before moving on to the sword station, where that guy Moray had made a blubbering idiot out of himself.

I pulled a few more fancy moves with the swords until I heard the head trainer call for a lunch break. Only then did I notice the Gamemakers, and remembered that the Careers weren't the only ones I had to impress. I sat alone at lunch, noticing that most people sat with their District partners. There were a few exceptions. Sayria sat with the tributes from Eight at their own table. Ivy sat with Juliette and the boy from Three. And, of course, the Careers sat together. What really surprised me was when the boy from District Seven, Stark Logger, I think, came over.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked gruffly. He couldn't have been more than thirteen, and short, too. About five foot. I could tell, though, that he wasn't one to be criticizing.

"Nah." I replied. "Go ahead." We ate half-aware of each other, not speaking until lunch was over. I got up to throw my things away when I heard a quiet thank you behind me. I turned around. "Don't mention it. Really, don't." It seemed I couldn't shake the runt. Everywhere I went, he followed. I even went to the archery station, at which he had stormed away from earlier, in the hopes of discouraging him. No such luck. It looks like I had a new little friend.

Great. My family will be thrilled. I've got a little squirt who will be a burden to my return home in the Games. But I couldn't help thinking that this kid was one serious contender. He was deadly with everything but an arrow. Anything sharp was his specialty. As I took a short water break, I finally introduced myself. "Saul." I said.

"Stark."

An alliance was born.

Diana Reston, District 9 POV

The time after lunch went a lot quicker than the time before lunch. The gym was only open until five, so around four o'clock, most of the tributes started to filter out. I stayed, though. It was nice to have the gym mostly to myself. All morning, I had worked with knives and occasionally, the bow and arrow, trying to divide myself, so as not to get kicked off of one station.

I decided that while most of the tributes were gone, I would work on my biggest talent: short swords. I picked up a sword, hefting it in my hand to test its weight. Good enough. I swung it a few times, though, to make sure. Eventually, I was satisfied.

I practiced with a trainer, dodging his moves and parrying back. It was a pretty intense session, I pinned him twice, he almost pinned me three times. Finally, I had him on the ground with his sword a few feet from him. Pointing the tip of my sword at his throat, I held it for three seconds and released. I made sure to clean the sword before putting it back.

"Nice work." he said to me.

"Thanks." I said, than turned around. He really wasn't worth my time. I actually went easy on him today.

I walked over to where Fletcher was sitting, waiting for me so we could go up to our floor. "You ready?" he asked. I nodded. Actually, now that I think about it, no one here is really worth my time. Except for possible the Careers and the Gamemakers, who had influence over my life and death.

I told Fletcher I was going to take a shower, and that he could head back up. He did, without hesitation. Hmph. Some District partner. I climbed into the shower, intent on getting up to dinner fast. The whole time I took a shower, though, I had this strange paranoid feeling that there was someone else in the room. Fletcher left, and he wouldn't be in the girls' bathroom anyways. So who was it?

I stepped out, cautious, aware of everything in the room. "Hello?" I asked.

"Hello." I heard a voice behind me, and I whirled around. There were three girls standing behind me, all from Career Districts. The voice belonged to the tall one, Rose. The one standing on her right, Marissa, looked almost as fierce, but that buttercup from One, Rain, looked like she did not want to be here right now.

"What do you want?" I asked, suspicion creeping into my voice. I quickly composed myself, still holding the towel tight against my body. Awkward.

"Nothing." answered Marissa calmly. "Nice reflexes." And they left. Rain lingered for a moment wistfully, almost as if she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it.

I had to watch out for them. Either I was an ally, or I was a threat. I was on their side, or I wasn't. There was no happy medium. Either they want me on their side, or they want me dead. I really hope it's the first one.


	9. Training Day Two: Friends and Betrayal

Moray Melbourne, District Four POV

I sighed, running a hand through my short hair. Being a girl pretending to be a boy was harder than I'd thought. Only four people knew, and one of those people wasn't even my District partner. It was my prep team and stylist. Melrose, my stylist, was shocked. He told me not to tell anyone, though. I had to; I was going to burst. Not a single one of my fellow tributes knew, but that was going to change today.

Marissa, my District partner, was too much of a Career to have any sympathy. Actually, so were the rest of the Careers, except possibly Rain. She seemed . . . genuine. Speaking of, Marissa walked out to breakfast and joined our mentors and me at the table.

"Morning," I said to her, my voice sounding a bit less masculine than usual.

"Morning," she replied coolly. That was pretty much all the conversation we'd had. Her dad, Callum Lionheart, was just like her, hardly said a word to me since we'd gotten off the train. Loraine was my mentor, and she was very kind. She had heard about my sword accident, who hadn't at this point, and gave me some pointers on holding the sword. We had great fun together whenever we talked strategy, joking and laughing. She'd be shocked if she found out I was a girl, but strangely, I don't think she'd mind.

The elevator ride was long and silent; even the tributes from District Eight, who were riding with us, didn't say a word. When we finally got off, I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly scoped out an empty station. Fire-building was empty, so I went over there and tried to make a fire out of flint and wood. I failed. Frustrated, I threw down the flint, politely said goodbye to the disappointed trainer, and made a motion to stand up.

I stood up only to be grasped by two warm hands. Shocked, I turned around to find Fletcher Ross, the quiet tribute from District Nine.

"Don't get frustrated. Here, let me help you." I sat back down, and he showed me how to angle the flint so I wasn't just striking a rock against a piece of wood. Sure enough, I got a small flame almost instantly.

"Good job," he congratulated with a smile. His face contorted into what looked like him telling me a secret that he wasn't supposed to know. "For a girl," he whispered. My mouth fell open.

"What?" I said in shock.

He stood up and pulled me over to a corner of the room.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"You're a girl, Moray. I know."

"How?" I questioned, unable to form more than one word sentences now.

"The way you walk, the way you talk, even the way you handle a sword: it's feminine. Try as you might, you're not going to be able to hide it for much longer. Even now, your voice is changing, becoming higher and more feminine. I can tell the difference between your voice at the Reapings and your voice now."

I started hyperventilating. If he knew my secret, he could blackmail me into killing someone. I wasn't that kind of person. What if he told the Gamemakers flat out? Would I be killed in a Gamemakers' trap? Would they poison me to get rid of the flaw in their game? Was that all I was? A flaw? Could I survive? If Fletcher found me out so easily, they might, too. And within moments of the Games starting, I could be gone. I was only seventeen; too young for no chance of survival. Too young to die.

I became slowly aware of the reality around me. Fletcher was looking concerned, his mouth moving but no sound coming out. There were a few trainers around me, and a medic was waving his hand in front of my face. I was flattened against the wall, my palms pressed to its cool surface. Had I really had a panic attack over such a little thing? The answer was yes, I had, because anything could happen now. As the medics took me to their clinic, Fletcher walked alongside me for just a minute, long enough for him to say what he needed to.

"I won't tell."

Chase Buck, District 5 POV

I wrapped my hands around the long, cold weapon. _Just throw it, Chase. That's all you have to do, _I told myself. _Hit the dummy. _I could barely bring myself to do it, and I threw the trident half-heartedly. It actually did hit the dummy, and then bounced right off of it.

I mustered up some more courage and grabbed another trident, determined not to miss this time. I threw it hard, and it impaled the dummy right through the ribs. Smiling, I left the station, not needing any more practice.

Within seconds of me leaving the station, I felt a little pixie beside me. Not even looking, I knew who it was.

"Hey, Alice," I greeted. "Anything interesting happening?" She shook her head, the tips of her hair brushing my elbow. She was ridiculously short, and I was pretty tall.

"Alright, then," I said. Alice wasn't one for conversation. The only time we had ever really talked was on the train. She had told me that even though she might seem weak and small, she was really one to watch out for, and not to underestimate her. I asked her to be my ally at that moment and she accepted. We also agreed not to join the Careers. Speaking of the Careers, they walked over to us at that moment, friendly yet deadly looks on their faces. It seemed that their leader was the tall, older girl from Two.

"Hello," she said calmly. "How are you two?" By this time, the whole Career pack, minus one, was surrounding us. "My name is Rose. This is Kale, my District partner, Rain, Adam, and Marissa. Moray is in the medic's room, he should be out soon, and then you can meet him."

Alice looked up at me nervously. I rested my elbow on her shoulder, comforting her in my odd way. "Hello, I'm Chase. This is Alice," I replied in an even tone. "We're fine, thank you. Just on our way over to lunch." I made a move towards the lunch table, but three of the Careers blocked my path.

"Not just yet," said Adam. "We have a . . . proposal."

Alice's eyes grew wide, and Adam continued speaking.

"We would like to invite you to join the Career pack. Both of you," Kale offered. It sounded more like a command than an offer.

"Well-" I began.

Marissa cut me off. "Consider carefully. You have until after lunch." And they walked away.

I looked back at Alice, who was still staring at me. "Don't worry," I reassured her. "We'll never say yes."

But inside I was weighing the possibilities. I could go without her. I could stay. I could go alone; try to make it without allies. There were too many choices, but only one would protect me from harm. Only one choice would guarantee my survival beyond Day Two, or even Day One. One choice; one only.

Adam Way, District 1 POV

We all walked away from the Fives, satisfied that they could be scared into joining us. Rose and I walked side-by-side and found a lunch table. I liked to think that I was the leader, but I could tell she thought differently. I assessed the rest of our Career pack so far.

Rain, my District partner, was a complete wimp. The only thing she was good for was getting sympathy sponsors. Kale, Rose's district partner from Two, was a toughie with a soft side. He was good with weapons, but I could tell he hated using them. Rose, well, she was Rose. Then there was Marissa, who seemed to be the other tough one in this group. She loved to take control, but I could tell she was biding her time to when full control would be hers. Moray was a clumsy blubbering idiot. I wanted nothing to do with him, but I figured he wouldn't survive past the bloodbath anyways.

Over lunch, we talked allies. "I want the girl from Eleven," said Marissa.

"You could be right," said Kale. "But it looks like she's mixing with the thirteen-year-olds from Three. If that's who she wants as allies, then we might want to rethink that choice."

"True," Marissa mumbled.

"I think the boy from Eleven is our better bet," continued Kale. "He's allies with that boy from Seven, the deadly one. Stark the Snake? You remember him?"

"Ah," said Rose. "Wise choice, Kale. You should approach them after lunch."

"Yes, ma'am," he said teasingly.

"I vote for the girl from Nine, Diana," said Rain. "She's useful with a weapon and with plants."

"I agree," said Marissa.

"Same," seconded Rose. We were all surprised - Rose agreed with Rain. This could be a historical event.

"Alright," I said. "Rain, approach her after lunch."

We talked strategy for about another 15 minutes, and then went our separate ways, most of us to training, and Rain and Kale off to make alliances. I went back to the knives station, and the boy from Five approached me. "Hello, Chase," I said without turning around. "Made up your mind?"

"Yes," he said. "I'm joining the alliance. She's not."

"Alright," I said calmly.

"Okay," he replied. I could tell he felt awkward, so I said no more and let him wander away to another station on his own. When he walked away, someone else came over.

"Hello, Rose," I said, still not taking my eyes off of the dummy. "I've been getting quite a few visitors today."

She picked up a knife and began to heft it, testing its weight, and then picking up another. "Saul, the Snake, and Diana are all with us. What happened with Chase?"

"He's in," I said plainly. The Career alliance was made. We were ready to kill. We were ready to survive.

Katarina Thorne, District 12 POV

All day Ben had been glancing over at the people from District Three. I finally got up the courage to ask him what was wrong.

"I know her, Kat," he said, using his nickname for me. I had become like an older sister to him, which reminded me of my family back home.

"From where?" I had asked him. In three seconds, I had regretted asking. During lunch, he had told me his story, the story of the girl he thought he loved, the girl he didn't know what happened to. The girl that thought he was dead.

"And she hasn't approached you?" I asked, puzzled.

"No."

"Well then, go talk to her!" I exclaimed. With a little prodding, I got him to go over there, and watched their hug, their conversation, and her tears. Now he was walking back.

"Kat, Juliette, Jack, and Ivy want to make an alliance with us. Are you in?" he asked. I had the feeling that if I said no, I would break his heart.

"Yeah, I'm in if you're in," I said casually.

"Thank you!" He pulled me up and took me over to meet our new allies. Ivy, the District Eleven girl, was sixteen, a year younger than me, and we became friends instantly. Juliette was, to be frank, beautiful, and I could see why Ben was in love with her. Jack was quiet, but very nice. He seemed to look away every time Juliette and Ben were talking. Feeling left out, I guess.

"Ivy," I began, "why are you allies with these young kids? I have nothing against it, just wondering what your thinking was."

She smiled. "They're just so young, aren't they? I guess I just want to protect them. The Games aren't exactly a friendly environment for these young children."

I nodded, watching Juliette, Jack, and Ben talk. "They are that. I'm in, Ivy. If we're going to protect these kids, then we better learn some useful skills. Want to try out a weapons station?"

She smiled. "Nah. I've already been to 'em all. I'll check out plants, you can go do some weapons with the boys. Juliette?"

The small girl looked up. "Yeah, Ivy?"

"Want to go do some plants?"

"Well, sure, but it's lunchtime. Maybe later?"

"Yeah," said Ivy, and we both sat down at a table next to them. Lunch today was cheese and turkey sandwiches with grapes and cookies.

"Man, this is way better than the food we get at home," I commented.

"Same," Ivy said, her mouth full. We both laughed. The serving plates were taken away, indicating that we were to finish lunch. Ivy took Juliette over to the plants station, and I took Ben and Jack to the mace station.

"Listen, boys. We're going to show them that just because we're not Careers, it doesn't mean we can't do anything."

Ben and Jack started practicing with all kinds of weapons, and became very, very apt in most of them. I did too, actually. Practice makes as close to perfect as you can get. We needed perfect to survive, that was for sure.

"Alright, guys, you can probably stop now," I told them while they were throwing knives. "Ben, Cassius is going to be wondering where we are. It's almost five."

"Oh," he said. "Okay." He and Jack said goodbye, and Jack went to get Juliette and Ivy.

Ben and I stepped into the elevator, and as the doors were closing we waved to our new allies. It had been a long day. We all trained hard for the Gamemakers session tomorrow, and I had a feeling our scores wouldn't be average for tributes of our Districts. We might actually have a chance of surviving.

Anna Moore, District Ten POV

Zander and I were the only ones left in the gym, and the tension grew thicker. We hadn't been getting along very well, and leaving us alone wasn't a good idea. Grabbing a bow, I decided to shoot arrows for the last half-hour the gym was available.

I noticed that so far, Zander had failed at every single weapon and most stations except for camouflage. "Hey, Zander," I said, making a curling motion with my index finger, telling him to come over here.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"We need to get this straight. Either you shape up and start being useful, or our alliance is off," I said. "I don't want you being dead weight in the arena."

He looked shocked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," I said. Repeating myself was not something I wanted to do. I shot another arrow at the target and missed by a fraction.

"Yes, I did. But what gives you the right to say that? You can't ditch me just because I can't hit a target." His face was a mask of exasperation and self-righteousness.

"Watch me." My patience level had hit the roof. "If you can show me that you can use a weapon, any weapon, before the Gamemakers session tomorrow, the alliance is back on. If not, you're on your own, buddy."

His mouth opened and closed, no sound coming out save for the occasional squeak. While he attempted to say something, I moved on to the axe station. He followed like a blind dog. I picked up an axe and swung it around for a minute before launching it at the target, sticking it in the side of the head.

He finally got up the courage to say something after the second axe. "Alright then," he managed. "The alliance is over. I'll tell Taynin you're still practicing," he said coolly. "See you later."

I smirked as I threw a third axe right into this dummy's ribs. Without me, there was no way he was going to survive.

**A/N:** Well, I know it's been positively forever since I've updated, but something came up in my family, and I apologize. I hope you liked the chapter, though. Here's a list of alliances so you're not confused.

**Career Alliance**

Adam Way-District One

Rain Moonshine-District One

Kale Solomowitz-District Two

Rose Shea-District Two

Marissa Lionheart-District Four

Chase Buck-District Five

Stark "The Snake" Logger-District Seven

Diana Reston-District Nine

Saul Giovanni-District Eleven

Inter-District Alliance

Jack Sandstorm-District Three

Juliette Starmite-District Three

Ivy Fields-District Eleven

Ben Sparks-District Twelve

Katarina Thorne-District Twelve

**ID Alliance**

Sayria Nell-District Seven

Jay Harrow-District Eight

Aubrie Mahora-District Eight

**ID Alliance**

Moray Melbourne-District Four

Fletcher Ross-District Nine

**District Alliance**

Zara Giovanni-District Six

Rilan Hemworth-District Six

**Loners**

Alice Catching-District Five

Zander Lox-District Ten

Anna Moore-District Ten


	10. Training Day Three: Gamemakers' Surprise

Rainbow-Light Moonshine, District One POV

I picked up a bow and arrow and shot it at my pursuer, then kept running. Only once did I glance back to see who I shot. It was Adam, my District partner. I was in shock, but my legs kept running. Another person joined me from my left. I took out a knife from my belt and stabbed them. It was Rose. Someone jumped down from the trees, and I stopped, letting them fall in front of me before stepping on their neck. This time it was Marissa whose life I ended. No matter what I did, I couldn't stop. I saw the faces of my fellow tributes chasing me, trying to attack me. And in the background, canons just kept going off. I couldn't stop, my legs wouldn't respond, my body kept killing, and my head wouldn't let me think about it. Finally, mercifully, I stopped and looked around.

I had been running in circles around a small clearing, and now, strewn across it, were twenty-three bodies. The dead, gruesome, cold, lifeless, bodies of my friends. "Rainbow-Light Moonshine, you are the victor of the 28th Hunger Games!" A voice rang out above me.

No, no I wasn't. The Games hadn't started yet. Had they? A hovercraft ladder was thrown off of the vehicle it belonged to, and I put my hands on it, freezing me in place. It slowly retracted, leaving me with bodies as the only thing to look at in a small forest arena. When I got up to the hovercraft, there was no one there. No one pulling the ladder up. No one waiting to take me into recovery. No one.

"Hello?" I said. I heard a shrill ringing noise and looked around. "Hello?" My voice was more urgent this time. The ringing noise got louder, and I opened my eyes.

"Rain? Rain?" I heard a voice saying my name, and looked up to find my stylist, Chaos. His twin sister Charm was Adam's stylist, and they had been spending a lot of time with us. They were very nice and made us look spectacular on the chariots.

"Hey, Chaos. What's wrong?" I looked at him funny, before remembering I had won the Games. "Oh, yeah! Sorry." Stretching my arms above my head, I shook out my hair and sat up. "When is the final interview?"

"Final interview? Sweetheart, you've still got training today," he said. "I woke you up because you were screaming, then saying hello over and over again, and it was worrying me."

I cursed under my breath. "Bad dream." Throwing off the covers, I stalked over to my mirror, brushing my fiery red hair and pulling it up into a high ponytail. Chaos was still standing there, so I shot him a look. "Are you going? I need to get changed." I added a smile to soften the blow.

He smiled back and nodded, then left. I put on my red jumpsuit-like outfit and washed my face before heading out to breakfast.

My mentor, Bryce Hatcher, was already there with Adam, Charm, and Chaos. "Good morning," I said pleasantly. "How is everyone?"

"Fine," Adam said gruffly.

"Do you know what you're showing the Gamemakers yet?" asked Bryce eagerly. That was just like Bryce. Down to business first, talk later.

I nodded. "Archery. My best."

"Wise choice. You, Adam?"

"I'm going to show them my gun skills, then maybe fool around with a knife for a little bit," Adam smirked. He was so full of himself, it was almost funny. Adam and Rose had been competing for Alpha since Day One, and though none of us admitted it, Rose was the undisputed leader among the rest of the Career pack.

"Okay," said Bryce, glancing at the clock. "Show 'em your best. Glitter!"

Our escort, Glitter Rave, came bumbling out of her room, curlers in her hair. "Yes, Bryce?" she said, her nasally voice cutting through my ears, making me wince.

"It's time to take these two down to training," he said, looking at her robe and slippers with disapproval.

Glitter blinked. "I've still got five more minutes!" she exclaimed. Without waiting for a reply, she went back into her room and shut the door.

I rolled my eyes, grabbed a bagel, and sat down. I didn't even bother to butter it, just tore it in half and started eating it. Charm eyed me hypocritically, but I ignored her.

Finally, Glitter emerged from behind her closed door wearing a pink dress and her hair sufficiently curled. "Ready to go, darlings?" she asked. I nodded at her, and rose from my seat, throwing out my bagel behind me.

"Remember to stay cool, calm, and collected," said Bryce. "Good luck!"

"I won't need it," said Adam cockily and walked into the elevator behind Glitter. I rolled my eyes and told him thank you, then followed Adam. The doors closed and I felt the elevator lurch as we moved down. Within a minute, the doors opened again, and we picked up Rose and Kale, along with their escort, a young man who didn't look very happy to be here.

"Hi," I said, smiling at Rose. Rose, Marissa, and I had become sort-of friends over the past two days, brought together by our District status.

"Hello," she said, smiling back. When she spotted Adam, her smile changed to a scowl. Kale simply opted for nodding at Adam and me. I nodded back.

The rest of the ride down was pretty silent, with Glitter occasionally humming parts of a song no one appeared to know. When the elevator doors opened, she said goodbye and pressed the "One" and "Two" buttons on the panel as she shooed us out. We all quickly got off, not wanting to make the journey up and down again.

"Well," said Rose. "Go to the stations you're going to use in the Gamemakers' session today, practice hard and don't be afraid of letting people know what you've got." She walked away to the sword station and sliced at some dummies after immediately picking up a weapon.

"Yeah," said Adam. "Do well, and, uh . . ." he trailed off. As a leader, he stunk. I could also tell that he was intimidated a little bit by the way Rose took leadership.

I laughed to myself and headed over to the archery station, leaving Adam and Kale to do whatever they wanted. Within minutes, I had picked the right bow and started shooting at targets confidently. Oh yeah, I had this in the bag. For Fireflight.

Adam Way, District One POV

As soon as Rain and Kale went their own ways, I headed over to Rose. "So, Rose," I started, stepping out of the way as she swung her sword. "Shall we discuss our alliance situation?"

She smiled. "Of course. What do you want to discuss?"

"Chase, of course," I said, feeling the urge to roll my eyes.

This time she laughed. "Oh, that wimp? Won't last a day."

"I don't know, Rose, I think the opposite. He's very strong, and I think he's a serious competitor and threat."

"Of _course_ he is, Adam. You misunderstood me, darling. He won't last a day if we don't let him last a day." Her eyebrows rose up and down a few times, and she turned back to slashing her dummy.

"You mean . . ." I whispered, astonished at the fact she presented. "We kill him at the bloodbath?"

Without turning around, she said "That's exactly what I mean."

"You're so diabolical, Rose," I said, smiling, and walked away to the gun station. I heard her laughter behind me. For the first time, I realized she could be a bit crazy. That was okay. Crazy people could be persuaded, told what to do. She would eventually bend, and I would be in control. There were some dangerous people in our Career alliance, and she would help me take them out until I took her out.

The guns were pretty easy to shoot, didn't kick too much and had good caliber bullets. This was the easy stuff. They normally didn't have guns, though, so I either had to prove that I could make it interesting or stick more to knives. Just to be on the safe side, I practiced with knives for about ten minutes.

There was really nothing else to do, so I decided to practice my hand-to-hand combat with an Avox. "Hey, you! I need a partner!" The well-muscled Avox came over almost immediately, shooting me a look. I could tell he didn't like me much, but he would soon get over that.

I threw a punch right away, catching him off guard. He feigned hurt, then lashed out with a swift kick to the stomach. I stumbled back, but managed to keep my balance and retaliated with an equal kick. The Avox grunted in pain, and I took the chance to get in another punch. We continued like this, circling and really getting into the fight. We parried, blow after blow hitting the Avox, only a few here and there ever hitting me. The fight felt like it lasted forever, with both of us drenched in sweat and zoned in to what we were doing. I felt a drop of my sweat hit my arm and lashed out again. Finally, I got a kick in to his nether regions, and he fell. I put a foot on top of him and pinned him down.

"I win," I said, before walking away.

Aubrie Mahora, District Eight POV

"Lunchtime, Aubrie," Sayria said from behind me. I turned around, not startled because I knew she was there.

"Okay," I said, trying to stay calm. Everyone knew what lunchtime meant on the third day. After lunch, everyone went to their Gamemakers' session. I already knew what I was going to show them, I had known for quite a while. Actually, I had known since the day I got reaped. I was going to show them how much it hurt to be a tribute, to have everything taken away from you.

Sayria, Jay, and I went over to the buffet table, making sandwiches with the food they provided. I had a simple turkey and cheese sandwich with lettuce; I wasn't one for much variety.

I kept nervously glancing around. It wasn't like me. Normally, I was sure of myself, but right now, I was worried about my session. I knew what I was going to do, but would I pay for it? Sayria seemed to notice my concern. "Don't worry Aubrie, you'll do fine," she said comfortingly.

I nodded at her and thanked her, becoming my old self again with some encouragement. Jay helped keep the conversation going, and before we knew it, it was time to face our worst fears. Sayria would go first, then Jay, then me. I had it the worst. Neither of them would be there to comfort me before I went. Still, I put on a brave face and watched as the boy from District One walked confidently into the elevator.

It was pretty quiet in the training room, most people too scared to speak; others not feeling up to talking. A few people were discussing something intently in the corner; it looked like the pairs from Districts Three and Twelve, along with a girl I didn't know. Her jumpsuit told me she was from Eleven.

An escort who belonged to none of the Districts came back down and got Rain, the girl from One. In a little while, she got the boy from Two. Then Rose went. Then the boy from Three. Next, his District partner. After that, the boy from Four. The cycle went on until Sayria was standing and moving towards the elevator.

"Sayria!" I called out to her. She turned back to look at me. "Good luck."

She smiled and nodded before heading into the elevator, her back a little straighter and her expression a little more confident. Fifteen minutes later, the elevator doors opened and the escort came to collect Jay.

By this time, I was absentmindedly braiding my waist-length black hair and clipped it with my token as he stood up. My distress must have been obvious, because Jay said, "Hey, you're the Deadly Needle. You can do it." He smiled reassuringly at me and tapped my arm. Dang it! So much for trying to stay cool; I guess that didn't fool anyone. I nodded, unsmiling as usual.

He walked away and disappeared up to the Gamemakers' room. I sincerely hoped he and Sayria did well. Actually, it was probably better I went after them. Everyone after me might be affected by the bad mood I would put the Gamemakers in. I almost smiled at that. The minute hand on the clock seemed to move fast, and before I knew it, it was my turn.

"Aubrie Mahora, District Eight!" the escort called. I stood up, confident and in a good mood.

I walked over to the elevator and stepped on, watching the escort press one of two buttons that were on the panel. Neither was marked, and I was intrigued as to where the second one took you.

The ride lasted only a minute. For some reason, I found my thoughts straying to Echo, and how he told me he loved me right before I left. I told him I loved him, too. And it was the truth. But I had surprised myself by crying and becoming vulnerable. The doors opened and shook me from my daydream. _Echo . . . _I walked out into a large room that looked somewhat like the gymnasium we had at our school. This gym had a large platform raised way up high at the front, and on top of the platform were the Gamemakers, seated at a large table.

It looked like they were being served food, so I got my supplies ready and bided my time until I had their attention.

Gregory Lamex, Gamemaker POV

Today had been almost a usual day. A few good kids here and there, all but one of the Careers really showing some talent, and some surprises along the way. Of course, there were some kids that really had no talent, either. We had just seen the boy from District Eight, and had agreed to give him a low score. He was good, but not spectacular.

At the moment the girl from the same District walked into the room, our food arrived. Oh, well. Looks like she wouldn't be getting a very good score, whether she deserved it or not. That was how it worked. She went to work at something in the corner, laying something out across the room and working on the wall a little bit. I was, I admit, a bit too preoccupied with my food to care.

Her fifteen minutes were almost up when most of us finished our food. I was still eating, unlike the rest of the pigs at this table. Ugh. They looked up, bored, expecting her to be almost done. Much to our surprise, she hadn't even started. This got our attention.

"Go on," said Seneca Crane, the Head Gamemaker this year, his first. "We're waiting, darling." You could hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice, and I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

She smiled sweetly. "Thank you. My name is Aubrie Mahora, and what I have set up here is something like an obstacle course. I have set myself up in a fake situation for the Games. These dummies are my enemies, and I am armed with only a dart gun and a few throwing stars." She held up her weapons, then put the stars in her pocket and readied her darts.

The girl, Aubrie, jumped into the circle she had drawn with berry juice, and a dummy was catapulted at her with something she had set up out of wood from the fire-making station. Her dart gun shot a few times, hitting vital places as she jumped out of the way just in time for the dummy to miss her. She walked along the line within the circle, and dodged a few more flying dummies before crouching down and decapitating a few strategically placed dummies with her throwing stars. The dart gun hit a few vital places on other dummies, and she made it out of the circle to stand about ten yards in front of the wall. The wall had a curtain on it, and I wasn't sure where she got the fabric from. Probably the wood burning station again. By now, everyone was paying attention.

Four darts expertly hit the nails holding up the cloth, and behind it was a rough drawing of a factory with people standing in front of it, looking at something. A few vaguely resembled Peacekeepers and others were more accurately drawn, probably depicting her family. But on the other side of the picture, we found what they were looking at. It was a large TV screen with the girl herself on it, a dagger in her heart, tears dripping from her eyes.

"This is the life of a tribute," she whispered, and stood there, waiting for us to dismiss her.

None of us could utter a sound. Sure, people had done some pretty rebellious things in the past, but this was almost the worst. Yet, there was nothing in her drawing that depicted unfairness in the Districts' life, just her dying. I guess she just wanted us to know she fully expected to die, and to spare her some pity. I could tell that others at the table had started to realize the same thing.

"You may go," said Seneca, shaking his head. When she had left, he turned to us. "A nine?"

Ivy Fields, District Eleven POV

I laid back on one of the two couches in our living area. Saul was sitting on the other one. "So, Saulie, how did you do?" I asked him. He gritted his teeth. My mentor Ray Barley, who was sitting on his other side along with Saul's mentor Pepper Wendly, let out a little chuckle.

"Now, now, Ivy. Be nice," he said with an amused tone in his voice.

"I was being nice, Ray," I replied. He just shook his head and rolled his eyes. I enjoyed annoying Saul. He was pretty much a big, mean, silent bully. I was surprised he let that little twerp from Seven follow him around the way he did. Although, they were both in the Career alliance, so I suppose they both played nice for the sake of being in with the Careers.

I turned absentmindedly towards the TV, which was currently playing recaps of old training scores and had announcers on comparing past victors' training scores. Finally, I heard Panem's anthem, and the weathered-looking gray haired man told us that it was time to announce the training scores of this year's tributes.

What little conversation there had been in the room quickly cut off, and all six of us, including the stylists, turned to the TV.

The younger blonde woman announcer started excitedly blabbing about how the scores could predict a winner.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just get to the scores," Saul grumbled impatiently. I giggled, and then stopped myself in a moment of surprise. I never giggled. I hardly ever laughed, for that matter.

"District One!" the woman said as two pictures popped up on the screen. The screen was now split in half by a white line, the boy's face on the left side and the girl's face on the right side. The background was a dark royal blue. "Adam Way!" A large white number fizzled in below his expressionless face. It was a nine. "A nine!" the woman said, appearing impressed.

"Rainbow-Light Moonshine!" A similar white number zoomed in from the right side of the screen, so it appeared as if the number had zoomed in from the middle of the air. "An eight!"

"District Two!" the man's voice said, as the "1" at the top of the screen next to "District" was replaced by a "2." Two new pictures also appeared. "Kale Solomowitz!" This number appeared by zooming in from the top of the screen. It was another eight. Rose Shea's number zoomed in from the bottom, and it was a nine. Typical Career scores.

I eagerly trained my eyes on the screen as pictures of my allies from District Three took their place. "Jack Sandstorm!" A five fizzled in beneath his picture. These fancy ways of getting numbers up on the screen was getting old. "Juliette Starmite! Seven!" A seven? You go, girl! She must have either done something impressive or she was just that good.

"District Four! Moray Melbourne!" Moray earned a surprisingly low four, and "Marissa Lionheart!" got an eight.

"District Five! Chase Buck!" Chase received a seven. "Alice Catching!" Her number annoyingly popped in from the bottom of the screen; another seven. It looked like training scores were going to be a bit out of the ordinary this year. Fours for Careers and Sevens for nobodies.

"District Six! Rilan Hemworth!" Rilan received a five, and Zara Giovanni received a six. These kids weren't just morphlings this year. For kids from Six, I honestly had to admit that I was impressed.

"District Seven!" The face of Stark Logger appeared, and I could see Saul visibly tense as he waited for the telltale results of his choice. If this kid was in the pits, the Careers would take Stark out first, and then go for Saul for making them look so weak. "Stark Logger! Nine!"

Everyone's jaws dropped. A nine? For a kid from Seven? That couldn't be possible. That kid had some mad skills, as my dad used to say. I felt my head spinning, and it wasn't just from the number nine that had just shaken my already unsteady footing in these Games and given me another person to watch out for. I had giggled; I had referenced my dad . . . were these games making me nostalgic? I pushed away the thoughts as Sayria Nell received a five.

"District Eight! Jay Harrow!" A measly four popped up. Poor kid, he must really be horrible. Or he was using the "look weak" tactic that had been utilized by many. The great thing about that was that nobody but yourself really knew if you were faking or if you were actually that much of a pathetic failure. "Aubrie Mahora!" Aubrie's expression looked like that of a goddess who was about to kill you. Beautiful and deadly. I wonder why the Careers never asked her to be in with them. I had always seen her alone, with her District partner, or with that Sayria chick. "Nine!" A nine? I shook my head. I would never fail to be impressed this year.

"District Nine!" Fletcher Ross received a pretty good six, and Diana Reston, who was in with the Careers, got an eight. Diana made me want to move back a little bit in my seat. Fletcher actually looked friendly in his photo.

"District Ten!" I sighed. This was the other District with two 13 year olds this year. I could only watch out for so many people, and right now my hands were full with Jack, Ben, and Juliette. Still, my heart reached out to them. Zander Lox got a five, and Anna Moore received another surprising seven.

"District Eleven!" Saul, who had relaxed since Stark's score had been announced, now tensed again. Even though I wasn't one to get over-excited or worried much, I gripped the pillow that was next to me and dug my nails into it. "Saul Giovanni!"

"Hey, Saul," I said, realizing something. "You have the same last name as the girl from District Six." I emphasized the words _girl_ and _District Six_, holding back a large smile. He rolled his eyes, but was too engrossed in what was on the screen to make a jab back at me.

"Eight!" The room cheered for Saul, and he broke into a grin.

"Yeah," he said. "But I have a much better score then that girl."

"Ivy Fields!" The cheering stopped, and my nails resumed their quest to find the stuffing in the pillow. It seemed as if the pause lasted a lifetime. "Eight!" My face erupted into a grin that I would have bet could beat Saul's earlier one. The room erupted right with me, Ray coming over to pull me up into a victory dance. "Ivy! Ivy! Ivy!" he chanted. I smiled and found that grin I held back when I had teased Saul.

We sat down, still elated at Saul's and my scores. The faces of my other allies appeared on screen - Ben and Katerina. Ben was a sweet kid, and Katerina was, too. Ben got a six, and Katerina got a five. Not bad scores, not bad at all. I suspected they were both holding back a bit, as I had seen them do some cool stuff in training.

"Well, kids," said Ray. "You should get to bed. We've got a big day of interview prep tomorrow!" He sounded very upbeat, as he should be after Saul and I both got eights. "Goodnight!"

Saul and I took that as our cues to go, and I immediately got up and stretched before heading in. Saul lingered a bit. As I opened the door to my room, I couldn't resist teasing him just a little bit more. I leaned back and said, "Good night, Saulie."

He just rolled his eyes again.

* * *

**A/N: Good chapter? Horrible chapter? How am I supposed to know? Oh, yeah. All you have to do is click that little button down there and let me know. :D Review. Please and thank you. :D**

**I hope you haven't given up on me, dear readers. I promise I'm still writing. My mom broke her hip and I've been pretty busy. Anyways, we're getting much closer to the Games, and remember that those sponsor points will be _very_ valuable. Also, in your review, please tell me whose POVs you would like to see next. I've written everyone and I tried to write people who gave me the most information about their characters. However, I'm very open to suggestions and I want to write what you want to read.**

**And, because I'm in a good mood, here's a plate of cookies for all of you.**

**Finally, a huuuuuuuge megaawesome giant ginormous extreme THANK YOU to my beta reader Lostliveson4eva, one of my besties and the most wonderful beta I could ask for! *cheers***

**Peace, Love, Happiness,  
~DG~**


	11. Interviews: Districts 1 to 6

**(Quick A/N: I'm skipping the Interview Prep day.)**

Juliette Starmite, District Three POV

"Juliette? Juliette, darling? Wake up! It's time for interviews!"

I groaned. Why was it that when I needed more sleep, my overly excited escort always had to wake me? I didn't even bother to throw a pillow at her. I just got up and began to rake a comb through my hair. When most of the tangles were sorted out, I laid it flat and went out to breakfast. My prep team would fix it later.

As I walked out, my escort smiled. "There's our sleepyhead!" she said cheerfully. I shook my head. She was true Capitol material. "Well, today is Interview Day!" Tivia exclaimed. "Exciting, exciting, exciting! You are both to report to your prep teams by ten this morning." I glanced at the clock: 9:55.

"Tivia?" Jack said, thinking along the same line of thought as I was.

"Yes?"

"It's nine fifty-five."

"Well then, we'd better get going!" she exclaimed. Tivia stood up and dumped her plate into the hands of our Avox, then bustled into the elevator. Jack and I simply left our plates on the table and smiled at each other. Old habits die hard. We used to do everything together, and we did it the same way.

Our elevator took us straight through the main building, then to the prep building, where it took us to floor three.

"Bye, darlings!" Tivia said as the doors closed behind us.

"Bye," Jack said. The elevator was already closing by the time he got the chance to spit that out. I laughed.

"See you later, Jack," I said, then started walking down the hallway. I heard him singing an old song behind me.

"Hit the road, Jack, and don't come back no more, no more, no more, no more." I laughed at him, and then entered my prep room. Once there, I found my very eager prep team awaiting me.

"Juliette, darling, we have the most brilliant outfit for you!" Leila squealed. Without warning, I was pushed into a chair and there was a brush in my hair. "Did you brush this at all?" she asked me. I nearly laughed.

"Not really," I admitted truthfully.

She scoffed and began to carefully part and section my hair. As Jebius moved in on my nails, I sat back and let my prep team do all of the work. I drifted off while they worked on me. That's not to say I fell asleep, but I mostly daydreamed about winning the games and going back home. I had conflicted emotions about winning. I could live, I could go home, but it would mean that people I cared about, and possibly loved, would be dead.

That included both Jack and Ben. Two boys who have completely changed my life. I had never been in love before, but could I be now?

"All right, darling, time for Miranda to work her magic!" Jebius announced gleefully.

Just as he said that, Miranda, the woman who had made such a splash for our District at the chariots, walked in and stood me up, kissing me on both cheeks.

"Hello, Juliette, darling," she said dramatically. Is there a memo that I didn't get about Call Juliette Darling Day? I smiled at her.

"Hi, Miranda."

She spun around on her toes once, then glided over to a rack of clothes and pulled off a simple dress. "So, darling," she said as she walked back over to me. "What do you think?" She held up a beautiful, knee-length, black and white dress. The waste up was white, with a black bottom. It puffed out at the waist, and had short sleeves. It reminded me of something . . .

"I know what you're thinking. It looks familiar, no? I got the inspiration from your Reaping dress. I absolutely loved it and had to make something like it. Different sleeves and different colors set it apart a bit, no?" She went on without waiting for me to answer her. "It's lovely, just genius. I heard your angle was charming and sweet, and I figured this would remind the audience of your roots." She swung the dress around as she spun and handed it to me dramatically. "Put it on. Fulfill your destiny." She beamed at me expectantly.

I almost rolled my eyes, but settled for smiling instead. Miranda was dramatic, to say the least. Regardless, I complied with her request and slipped on the comfortably fitting dress. Hesitantly, I turned and looked in the mirror. What I saw surprised me. This dress fit me better than the one I left behind on the train. It was more beautiful, more sophisticated. It was more like me.

Behind me, reflected in the mirror, was Miranda with a face that could only be described as exuberant. "Do you like it?" she asked nervously with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"No," I said honestly. Her face dropped, visibly disappointed. She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. "I love it."

This time she started jumping up and down. She surprised me by coming over and hugging me. "I'm so happy!" And I surprised myself by hugging her back. All of the sudden, she pulled away and got serious. "Now, we need to work on your makeup a little." She took a few steps back. "Mmhm. Yes, a little more gold right there . . ."

I sat down, knowing what was coming, but loving every second of it. She continued to analyze me, and I simply let myself be at her mercy. If I was a Capitol pawn, I could at least try to move around the board with dignity. And, if Miranda did her job right, so beautifully that sponsors would be falling over themselves just for me.

Mariana Blackman, Capitol Citizen POV

The chatter in the stands died down as Caesar walked out from behind the double doors, handsome as ever. His color was gold this year, which was just divine.

"Good evening, citizens of the Capitol!" he said. Everyone cheered as he smiled. "Today I'm going to present to you, for the second time, our tributes for the twenty-eighth Hunger Games!" A louder cheer sounded from the crowd. "Without further ado, let's get started!"

The doors opened again, and 24 kids filed out and sat in the chairs that had been provided. Before we knew it, the first girl was being called to the stand. "Rainbow-Light Moonshine, District One!" called Caesar. Ooh, I loved that name. She had pretty hair, too. The green of her dress really set off her red hair.

"So, Rainbow-Light," he started.

"Just Rain," she corrected pleasantly. "Call me Rain."

"Rain," he tried again, amiably smiling at her. "Are you excited to be a Tribute this year?"

She swallowed before answering. "Of course, Caesar." A brilliant smile lit her face. "Who wouldn't love being here? The Capitol is such an exquisite city. The buildings, the food, the people." She winked at the crowd. "Such wonderful people you have here." We all cheered for her. She visibly relaxed.

"So, who was the little girl you volunteered for? Anyone special?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes, she's very special. She's my sister, Fireflight. I love her more than anything."

He asked her a few more questions about home, then the usual "What do you think of the Games?" She answered that she was very excited to be in them, and she thanked us for our hospitality. The buzzer went off and she went back to her seat. She made an excellent first impression.

The next tribute up was her District partner, a sturdy looking boy named Adam Way. I frowned a bit. Most definitely not a pretty name. His personality was nothing to scoff at, yet nothing to be impressed by, either. Other than the fact that he was strong and a definite leader, he was . . . boring. The suit he wore played up his handsome features, though. He also had an older brother who he admired.

Next, Rose Shea, District Two. "Hello there, Rose," Caesar greeted her pleasantly.

"Hello," she said, matching his tone of voice. "It's very nice to meet you, Caesar. I've only seen your work on TV, and now I'm the subject of it!" She laughed, and we did too. I warmed up to her very quickly.

"It's nice to meet you too, Rose. Now, can I ask a little about your home life? It says here that you have a sister?" Caesar said, pleased with the compliment.

"Yes, I do. Her name is Breena, and like Rain," she paused to wink at Rain. Was there a strong alliance between these two? Ooh, drama. "she also means the world to me."

"Do you have any hobbies?" he questioned.

"Why, yes, Caesar. Surprisingly, I love to cook." She smoothed her dark blue dress, and I noticed how wonderfully it complemented her platinum blonde hair.

Her interview passed quickly, the buzzer sounding in the middle of her answer about what her Reaping reactions were. She took it graciously, waving to us before heading back to her seat.

"Kale Solomowitz, District Two!" Caesar called. A handsome young man in a suit walked up to the stage. He was eighteen, and he volunteered. "Hi, Kale. Can you tell us about your friends and family back home?"

He smiled. "Why, of course! My dad is very . . ." He paused, unsure. "Supportive. My mom is just a darling; she takes care of me and my two sisters, Vina and Haylen. They're the nicest little girls you'll ever meet."

"Wow, it seems like everyone here loves their siblings! No rivalry, none at all?" Caesar asked, obviously bemused.

"No, they're too young to fight with me. They know better," he joked, earning a few chuckles.

The interview finished after a few more questions with about three seconds to spare.

"Juliette Starmite, District Three!" a young girl of no more than thirteen walked daintily and happily to the stage.

"Hello, Caesar," she said, a light tone to her voice.

"Hello, Juliette. Now, is it true that your stylist had a theme going on here?" He gestured to her outfit.

She laughed. "Oh, yes. You may notice this looks similar to what I wore at my Reaping." Pictures of her at District Three's town square popped up on the monitor, replacing her tribute profile. We all murmured agreement, noticing the similarity. "Well, my wonderful stylist Miranda took a spin on it and made it so beautiful, don't you think?" She put out her arms as if she was trying to fly. Again, we all nodded. How ingenious.

"Do you and Jack know each other?"

"Yes, actually. We've been friends for about three years now." How sweet, friends and District partners! Caesar went on about her family and her opinion on the Games. She was an only child, and was excited to be here. The buzzer sounded, and Jack Sandstorm was called up. He was an amiable fellow, if a little quiet, and was wearing black pants with a dark blue shirt.

"So, Jack, how do you feel about the games?" Caesar asked him.

"Happy to be here," he replied quietly. Nervously, he fiddled with the edge of his shirt.

"Do you and Juliette plan to become allies?"

Jack smiled secretively. "Maybe, maybe not, Caesar, you'll have to wait and see!" he answered tantalizingly.

His interview was over quickly, and Marissa Lionheart of District Four was called up. She was wearing a bubblegum pink strapless dress with rhinestones on the bust. She looked absolutely breathtaking.

"Marissa! It's nice to meet you," Caesar told her, extending his hand out to shake. She sat down, and took it.

"And the same to you, Caesar," she said, laughing.

"Now," he said, getting serious. "Fill us in. Is the gossip true? Is Callum Lionheart your dad?"

She glanced over to her right, where the mentors and stylists were sitting, and her gaze lingered there, as if waiting for something. Finally, she looked back. "Yes, yes he is. And I'm very proud of it."

"Why haven't we heard of you?"

"Well, my dad has been protecting us by not telling anyone. He won, like, the second Hunger Games, so not a lot of people remember his victory. Still, he loved us, so he let us live in our home and comes to visit us every day." Her eyes flashed with something that made me suspect her, but I let it go as she laughed. "He's a great dad."

Caesar smiled. "I'm sure he is." After more questions about her family, and a few about her skills and training score, the buzzer went off and the boy tribute was invited up to the stage.

Moray Melbourne was a lanky young boy who looked a bit out of place. He was wearing a nice, dark green shirt and black pants. "Hi, Caesar," he said nervously. "Nice to meet you."

"And the same to you, Moray. Now, fill us in on your home life," Caesar requested.

"Well, I was orphaned as a baby, so I've got an adoptive dad named Series. I took his last name since I didn't know my own," he replied sadly.

We all went "aw" at his situation. I was warming up to him already. He went on a bit about how he enjoyed his life and wasn't at all sad, and then talked about his training score.

"You never know, Caesar. Maybe I'm hiding something," he said mischievously. He flashed a heart winning smile.

"No, we never know." Caesar responded with an equal smile. Suddenly, the buzzer went off, breaking the friendly moment. "Okay and that brings our interview with Moray to an end." As Moray left the stage, he called up the next tribute.

"Alice Catching, District Five!" A small, short girl who reminded me vaguely of a pixie mounted the platform happily, wearing a short orange dress with spaghetti straps that complemented her short and spiky brown hair.

"So, Alice, what do you think of your District partner and the Games this year?"

"Well, Caesar, I think it's wonderful that District Five has a great boy tribute this year." She sent a too-sweet smile to her partner. "But me? Ha, I bet I'll die. Weak, small, Alice. No one ever knew her. I guess I was shocked at the Reapings, but hey, let the Hunger Games begin!"

The crowd was silent at her answer. Never before had someone dared to answer so boldly. Caesar quickly recovered and went on. "I don't know, your training scores looked pretty good!" he said cheerfully.

She sniffed. "They were okay."

The rest of the interview went on with mostly two or three word answers on her part, and Caesar had some lively attempts to keep her going. He revealed a bit of her funny side at one point, but you could tell she was a little more on the bitter side.

Her District partner was soon called up - Chase Buck. He looked pretty pleasant in his polished outfit.

"Hi there, Caesar," he said, shaking his hand, and then smoothing his tux.

"Hi, Chase. Tell us a little bit about yourself."

"Well, I'm seventeen years old and very happy to be here. My family died three years ago in a house fire, so I live with my neighbors Bentley and Coral Dragon," he told Caesar, a bit sadly.

"Wow, that must take a lot of courage to start over. Who exactly is Coral Dragon?" Caesar asked, lifting his eyebrows suggestively.

"Coral is like my family. We take care of each other, she's my best friend," Chase replied nonchalantly.

"And you live together?"

"Yeah, like I said, we take care of each other."

"That's it? No steamy romance you're leaving behind?" Caesar pried.

Chase laughed. "No, that'd be weird. Bentley and Coral are my family."

That was the only interesting part of his interview, and it was over with the ding of a buzzer.

"Now, Zara Giovanni from District Six!" Caesar said. A tall girl in a black, short skirt and knee high black boots walked up.

"Hi, Caesar. Nice to meet you," Zara greeted him.

"And the same to you, young lady. How are you enjoying your stay?"

"Oh, I love it here, Caesar. It's just exquisite. The people, the food, the buildings, the atmosphere, it's just so wonderful!" she exclaimed.

"Tell us a little about your home life," Caesar asked of her.

"Well, I live with my mom, dad, and little brother Hunter. Hey Hunter!" she said, waving at the camera sweetly. We all laughed.

"Sounds like you like your little brother, eh?" Caesar said jokingly.

"Oh yes, Caesar, we get along fabulously. That is, when we're not fighting, which is usually once a day, fifteen minutes a day." We all laughed again. "But really, I love him," she said seriously.

"We can see that. Now, any game plans?"

She laughed melodically. "Now, now, Caesar. Haven't you been here long enough to know that nobody answers that question?"

He chuckled and slapped his knee. "That's a good point, Zara. Well then, can you at least tell us your thoughts?"

She went on to tell him about how she was very excited to be in the games and hoped she could get lots of sponsors. They talked about the Capitol for a bit before the buzzer sounded.

"Rilan Hemworth, District Six!" was called up to the stage. As Zara was walking down, Rilan was walking up. All of the sudden, she slipped on her heels, and plummeted off the platform.

* * *

**A/N: First of all, this chapter is dedicated to my best friend Savanna! :D**

**Second, thank you so so very much to my lovely beta Lostliveson4eva.**

**Third, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, reviews really motivate me to write.**

**Last, and most important: Yes, I did disappear for over a month, and I sincerely apologize. My writing style is very erratic, but NEVER at any time will I give up on this story, I promise you. I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'm not going to say that the next part of interviews is coming SOON, but it will get here. I'm planning on alternating chapters between this story and my other SYOC, so reviews will definitely motivate me to update faster! I do have to say that I'm a bit disappointed with you guys on the review number. :D Let's see if we can get it up to 100 after the next chapter!**

**Cookies for everyone who presses that little button down there that says "Review"! Don't worry, it doesn't bite anymore. :D**

_**Coming up: Districts Seven through Tw****elve interviews, The Bloodbath**_

**Peace, Love, Happiness,  
~DG~**


	12. Interviews: Districts 7 to 12

Stark Logger, District Seven POV

The crowd gasped when Zara fell. A few even stood up and reached out, as if they could possibly catch her. But they couldn't. She plummeted off the platform, apparently because of her tall boots. I had two thoughts in quick succession. The first was: _I wish I could get that much attention._ The second one was: _Hah. This is the first time a tribute will die before the Games. _And she most definitely would have died. I quickly calculated the approximate height of the platform - 20 feet - and Zara's weight - no more than 110 pounds - and figured that she would snap some sort of body part and bleed to death. That actually would have been amusing to see, but that Rilan kid ruined it.

He was walking up as she was walking down, and was just underneath the platform. In an instant, when he saw what was happening, he put his arms out and looked like he was bracing himself for the fall. Sure enough, Zara hit dead-on into his arms, and he staggered for a moment before they both collapsed. Sure, the injuries were way less than they could have been, and that was great and all, but I would have liked to see some blood or something. Jeez.

A team of paramedics rushed over to check them out before taking them into a back room. Caesar looked flustered, but kept everything under control.

"For those of you watching at home, we're going to take a quick break and be right back," Caesar said, smiling serenely. It was almost creepy how calm he was. He signaled to the cameramen and the lights on their cameras went out. He then turned to the crowd.

"We're going to just give them some time, and then we'll resume the interviews," he said.

There was a rumble from the crowd, but no one protested. Five, then ten, then fifteen minutes passed, and everyone got a bit restless. In twenty-seven years of Games, this had never happened.

Finally, the doors to "backstage" opened and Zara and Rilan came out. Zara was limping a bit, but Rilan looked fine. I noticed that Zara's ankle was bandaged in one place, but it didn't look too bad.

She quickly sat down, and Rilan took his place at the interview seat. By the look on Caesar's face, he obviously had lots of questions.

"Rilan!" he exclaimed. "Please enlighten us about what went through your head and what happened backstage."

Rilan smiled, happy that he was at least in the spotlight. "Well, Caesar," he started amiably, "I really wasn't thinking too much. I just saw Zara fall, and the only thing that went through my head was 'I've got to catch her.' So I stuck out my arms and hoped for the best!"

"That takes courage! Let's give this boy a round of applause!" Caesar said. Accordingly, there was a round of smattering applause and whoops and cat calls from some of the teenage girls. It almost looked like he was blushing. How despicable.

Rilan continued his saga. "Then they took us backstage and looked us over. Zara had a bit of a sprained ankle, but they said that it should probably heal if she stays off it tonight. I had a long mark down my leg and they said it might not be good, but I think it's fine."

The crowd rumbled in admiration. This boy had won a place in their hearts, for better or for worse, because of his "bravery", if you could even call it that. They chatted a bit about the Games in general, and then his turn was up.

Next was my District partner, Sayria, a.k.a. the girl I really didn't like. She was a bit fiery in training, so it wasn't that she was weak, we just didn't get along well. Our personalities didn't . . . mesh.

She walked up to Caesar, red curls bobbing, not smiling but not frowning. "Hello," she said calmly.

"Hello, Sayria," greeted Caesar, quite unfazed. "Tell us a bit about yourself. Let's start with your volunteering. Who was the little girl you volunteered for?"

A flicker of a smile passed across her face before she answered. "That would be Janey Stevens. She's twelve years old and absolutely adorable," she gushed.

The crowd smiled and a few even laughed. It was obvious that she really doted on this girl. I noticed another side to it, though. If this girl was in the Capitol, she could have been used as a weakness. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Caesar continued with a genuine smile on his face. "So then, tell us about your family."

This time, a frown crossed Sayria's face before she continued. "My parents are dead," she stated simply. "My brother Marlow takes care of me." Sayria waved slightly at the cameras. "Hi, Marlow."

I was genuinely surprised. This girl was showing more emotion than I had seen from the Reapings up until this moment. Was it an angle, or was there more to her underneath her shell?

"Any alliances?"

"Oh, Caesar," she laughed playfully. "You know I can't tell you that."

He shrugged. "Worth a try." The rest of the interview consisted of playful banter about the Games and her feelings about home.

The buzzer sounded, and Sayria descended from the platform. I noticed it was very carefully. She obviously didn't want to repeat Zara's episode. I frowned. Too bad. It'd be nice to play the hero sometimes.

"Stark Logger, District Seven!" was called out by Caesar's commercial voice. I took a deep breath, plastered the familiar half-smile, half-mask onto my face, and climbed the stairs.

I sat down in the plush chair like I owned it, nodding pleasantly at Caesar. "Hello, Caesar."

"Hello, Stark. So, how has your experience in the Capitol been so far?" he asked me.

"Oh, it's been wonderful," I emphasized. "The city is breathtaking." Some people in the crowd whistled loudly in approval.

"Tell us about your home life."

I let my eyebrows furrow for a moment as if I was recalling painful memories. To tell the truth, I had become very distant from the memories of my family's death. Each death, other than my sisters', was scrubbed out, the facts from the newspaper the only thing remaining. I knew no more than any other bystander would, and I was happy that way. Not having anything to care about was an advantage. My sisters' deaths, however, were ones that I vividly remembered, mostly because I studied how they fought, searching for traces of their real selves. I never found any, so I gave up.

However, I pretended to sniff before I continued. "Well, Caesar, all of my family has passed away. My father was in a logging accident and my mother committed suicide shortly after." I paused to let that sink in with the audience before I dealt the final blow. "My sisters…" Insert misty eyes here. "My sisters all died in the Games before me."

The crowd gasped. "I'm so sorry," Caesar said, seeming like he really meant it. I fought off the urge to shrug and say 'It's no big deal' and instead settled for nodding as if unable to say anything. "I do remember one girl with your last name…" Caesar continued. I could tell he was receiving information fed to him through his earpiece - he would never remember tributes.

"Her name was Lissa, wasn't it?" he 'realized'. I nodded, playing along. "She was seventeen years old." Up on the screen, my tribute profile was replaced with pictures of my sister, one taken before the Games, and one of her killing someone in the arena. I smiled. I was particularly proud of that one kill. She had used her bow and arrow to surprise a pursuer, pretending she didn't know he was behind her.

Unfortunately, she really didn't know that there was someone in the trees above her.

The pictures abruptly disappeared. I guess they didn't want the audience dwelling on how sad the Games were for too long. "Your other sister, Maeve, was fourteen, I believe," Caesar said. I nodded again. It was just like the Capitol to have the names and ages and pictures of every person they killed. When I made it out of the arena, I would mentally remind myself to do the same. A scrapbook of my victory, if you will.

"So, are you excited for these Games? Going to outdo your sisters? Make the family legacy?" Caesar pressed on.

I regained the composure on the outside that I had never lost on the inside. "Yes, Caesar. I have a vow, one that I made from the day that I was reaped. That vow said that no matter what, I would come home and win the Games!" I said that last part very confidently. The crowd cheered, appropriately punctuating my statement.

Caesar nodded. "That was a good statement to make!" he joked. "Now," he started. We launched into a confident conversation about my strategy and my strengths before the buzzer interrupted him. "Oh, it looks like our time with Stark is up! Thank you, Stark." I could tell I was dismissed, and so I quickly returned to my seat, content to sit back and analyze the rest of my competition.

Next up was Aubrie Mahora from District Eight. She was wearing the classic strapless little black dress with striking purple heels and what looked like a purple hairpin. I had to admit, she looked good, though I could tell the smile on her face was forced.

"Hello, Aubrie."

"Hello," she replied coolly.

"How do you like the Capitol?" Caesar asked.

"It's nice."

"Are you excited for the Games?"

"I guess," she answered.

"Your training score was very high! You must be pretty good with something. Can you share anything with us?"

"Sorry, I don't think I can."

"Can you tell us about your family?" he questioned.

"My mom and dad are gone."

"I'm so sorry."

"Mm-hmm."

"Do you have friends?"

"Echo."

"Can you tell us a little bit about Echo? She must be nice." I could tell Caesar was getting frustrated at this point with Aubrie's short answers. I on the other hand thought it was pretty funny.

"Echo is a he," Aubrie retorted in the same cool tone she had been using the whole time.

"Who is Echo, then?" Caesar pried, never losing his cool.

Aubrie sighed. "Echo is the mayor's son. He's been my best friend since we were little. I live with his family now because my family is gone."

Caesar looked pleased that he had finally gotten a real answer out of Aubrie. "So, do you have any nicknames?" Wow, he really was running out of questions to ask this girl.

"The Needle," Aubrie said with a smile.

Intriguing. "And why do they call you 'The Needle?'" Caesar asked, genuinely interested.

Aubrie's face took on a frustrated look and she started to shout. "Because I can shut up annoying interviewers who keep asking me-"

Caesar flicked his hand a little bit, and a second later, the buzzer went off. I frowned. That wasn't nearly enough time.

"A-a-and that's the e-end of our interview w-with M-miss Mahora," Caesar stammered. I laughed, causing me to receive a few looks. That must be the first time Caesar has ever received a death threat from a tribute. I did have to admit that Aubrie had a point; Caesar could be annoyingly fake at times.

The boy tribute from District Eight climbed the stage, rolling his eyes a little bit as he did. I figured that he and Aubrie were in an alliance and he was worried about sponsors. Figures.

"Hello, Jay," Caesar said after announcing the boy to be Jay Harrow.

"Hello," the boy replied amiably. I could tell he was going to be extra careful not to tread on toes. Then again, he seemed just as boring and bland in training.

"So, tell us about your family!" Caesar said.

"Well, my mom is the nicest person in the whole world. Then I have two older sisters, Eden and Kosi, and one older brother, Nill, and two younger sisters, Fawn and Yuni."

Caesar whistled. "Wow, that's a big family."

"Yes, but we all love each other." The crowd awed and I mentally barfed.

The interview passed rather boringly, with Jay playing the perfect brother, friend, and tribute. It was so sickeningly sweet and disgusting.

Next up was the District Nine girl, Diana Reston. I knew that she was also a Career, like me. "Hello, Diana," Caesar said as Dianna took her seat. I was surprised he hadn't gotten tired of the interviews by now. I was so ready for these to be over. Diana walked up, and I noticed that she was wearing a long purple dress that really flowed.

"Hello," she said, seemingly uninterested. Her eyes wandered.

"So, how old are you?"

"I'm eighteen," Diana responded.

"Tell us about who you left behind at home," Caesar said.

"Well, my mom and my sister Katelyne, who is fourteen. Also, my boyfriend Carter and my best friend Mylena. I love them all," she answered, not really sounding like she loved them as much as her words implied.

"So, tell us a bit about your strategy. Your training score was very high! There must be some secret there."

This comment evoked a small, pursed smile from her. "Secrets are secrets, Caesar."

His eyes twinkled. "Indeed they are. In that case, maybe you can tell us what you think of your fellow tributes? Any alliances?"

"Well, the alliance part is a secret, of course. But as to what I think of my fellow tributes…I'm better than most of them," she said confidently, earning a few glares from the other tributes.

I raised my eyebrows. That was a risky statement to make. She continued. "I did say most of them, of course, but hopefully in the arena, I can be better than all of them." She laughed, and Caesar did with her. That got the whole crowd laughing quietly. Diana continued on about how excited she was for the Games, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I wasn't really listening to.

Fletcher Ross was the male tribute from District Nine. He walked up to the platform with an easygoing smile on his face.

"Hi, Caesar!" he greeted, smoothing his blue suit. "How are you today?"

Caesar smiled. "I'm well, thank you. And yourself?"

"I'm pretty good. Happy to be here."

"Happy to have you here. Now tell us a little about yourself."

"Well, I'm seventeen. I have a mom and dad, and a nineteen year old brother named Myles."

"Do you two get along?"

Fletcher hesitated. "For the most part." He winked, and the crowd chuckled.

I noticed that he seemed like a genuinely nice person. Although he did disgust me a little bit, I couldn't help but like him. He would get a lot of sponsors for this interview.

As the District Ten girl, Anna Moore, walked up, I just sighed and leaned back. This was taking a long time.

Rainbow-Light Moonshine, District One POV

I couldn't help but smile at Fletcher's interview. He seemed really nice. Anna Moore walked up and sat in the interview chair.

"Hello, Caesar." she said in a quiet voice. The look on her face said that she was determined and very serious. She looked young, though. Like Fireflight…

"Hello, Anna. So, how old are you?"

"Thirteen. I'll be turning fourteen soon."

"Tell us a bit about yourself. What's your home life like?" Caesar asked, warming up to her a bit because of her age. Even the crowd couldn't dislike her serious mask. She looked too mature for her age. I felt bad for her.

"Well, I live in District Ten with my mom and my best friend is Aralyn." She began to open up to Caesar. "I work in the fields with the livestock. I have a cow named Bessie." Anna smiled, probably thinking about her cow.

"And are you excited to be here?"

"Of course! I'm excited to be here and to prove myself. I will win these Games, Caesar, you watch and see."

He nodded, his smile lighting up the room. The interview carried on before Caesar finished it right before the buzzer. Then Zander Lox, Anna's District partner, was up.

Zander greeted Caesar with an overly happy smile. I could tell he was an easygoing kind of person, yet also very young. He was thirteen, and lived with his mom, dad, and little brother Joey.

"Are you especially good at anything?"

"But of course, Caesar! I just can't tell you. Yet. But you'll find out during the Games, obviously. 'Cause, you know, you'll be watching, and I can't exactly hold back. You know, while I'm in the Games. 'Cause, if I do, you know, I'll probably-"

"Well," Caesar interrupted. "If you can't tell about your strengths, how do you feel about the Games?" I could tell he was trying to make Zander look better.

"I'm pretty excited. Then again, I can't exactly be, you know, not excited, because, you know, I'm going into them no matter what. So, you know, I guess I'm excited. You know-"

Mercifully, the buzzer went off.

District Eleven was up next, and the girl tribute was Ivy Fields. I was surprised at her light skin tone, something that wasn't at all common for that District. I suspected she might not have originally been from there.

"Hello, Caesar," she said. I liked the way this girl carried herself. She was strong and confident.

"Hello. Tell us a bit about yourself, Ivy."

"Okay, Well, my name is Ivy Hazel Fields, and I'm sixteen. I live in District Eleven with my mom, and I work in the fields."

"How are you feeling about these Games?" Caesar asked her.

"Oh, I'm very excited. I've got some great allies." Her smile grew larger, and I wondered who these so called allies were. She only ever hung out with those thirteen year olds and the pair from District Twelve. How could that be something to be excited about?

"Oh, and who could that be?"

"Someone. I can't tell you, of course."

"Of course. Confidential." Caesar nodded.

Ivy laughed, and it sounded like bells. Caesar laughed, too. The crowd was warming up to her, I could tell, and the rest of her interview was like gold. I could just hear the phones ringing to sponsor her.

Next up was Saul Giovanni. I chuckled to myself when I noticed that he had the same last name as a District Six girl. Caesar noticed, too.

"So, Saul, any relation to Zara Giovanni?" he asked, very interested.

Zara blushed from her seat, and Saul scrambled to reassure the crowd. "No! There is absolutely no relation between Zara and me."

Caesar hurriedly calmed him down, and the rest of the interview went rather well. He was seventeen, and was an only child with both parents.

I could tell that he was a strong, silent type, not one to mess with. No wonder most of the Careers had wanted to invite him. I approved of their choice now. Of course, I hadn't really talked with him before, because he scared me too much.

Finally, District Twelve was up. Most of the tributes visibly relaxed, ready to be done with these interviews. Of course, being done with the interviews meant that all that stood in the way of coming back was the actual Games. I shuddered. Maybe I did want these interviews to go on forever.

Katarina Thorne walked up to the interview platform. "Hello," she said in a quiet voice.

"Hello, Katarina. Please, tell us a bit about yourself and your home."

"Alright. Well, I'm seventeen, and I live in District Twelve with my mom and dad. I have some great friends, too - Jeremy, Melissa, and Elizabeth." Katarina looked very pleasant and happy with herself. She was the type of person who could die tomorrow and not have any regrets.

As soon as I thought that, I mentally cursed myself. She could die tomorrow, and I wasn't being very considerate.

While I was reprimanding myself, she had said something that had made the crowd laugh, and I could tell that she had a way with words. Throughout the interview, when she spoke, it was always something worth listening to. If you captured her words in a jar, they would be worth a lot of money.

Last but not least, Ben Embers walked up for his interview. He was a handsome little guy, thirteen years old, and lived with only his parents. He didn't mention any friends, though, and I felt bad for him.

He seemed to always be glancing out at the tributes when he spoke, particularly near me. I could tell it wasn't at me, or Adam, or Kale, or even beautiful Rose. It was at the District Three tributes. Why on earth…?

Then I remembered that he had an alliance with them and the District Eleven girl, as well as his District partner. That could be interesting.

I smiled at his charm, and how grown-up he looked in his blue suit. It complemented his dark eyes very nicely. There did seem to be an air about him, though, and I couldn't pinpoint what it was. His eyes were stormy, and seemed to hold a lot for someone so young.

"So, Ben, are you excited for these Games?"

Ben smiled. "Yes, Caesar, I'm very excited to prove myself, and I want my parents to be proud of me."

"I'm sure they will be. Now," Caesar started.

He was interrupted by the buzzer, and the tributes all let out one collective breath, as if we had been holding it until the interviews were over.

Caesar smiled his brilliant smile and stood up as Ben returned to his tribute chair. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the tribute interview portion of the 28th Hunger Games!" He paused for a huge round of applause. There were a lot of yells, and some tribute names could be caught on the lips of the fans.

They were saying Ivy's name, Ben's name, Rose's name, Rilan's name, and some people were even saying my name. I smiled and waved at the crowd. They screamed louder. This was interesting; I had never considered myself to be a Capitol favorite.

"All sponsors may now place their calls to each tribute's hotline. Calls will be accepted until midnight tonight. Tomorrow, the Games will begin!" I groaned inwardly. "And now, a word from President Snow to send us off."

President Snow climbed the stage in all his glory as the Panem national anthem played in the background. He waved to the citizens. "Ladies and gentlemen, today you have seen the power, charm, and wit of our twenty-four tributes. Tomorrow, they will be in the arena. We wish them all the best of luck, and hope to see them back here as our victor. Let's send them off with a big farewell, and remember that the Capitol has ultimate power."

The last remark was aimed towards the camera, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Goodnight, Panem!" Caesar said, and the camera lights went off as the crowd roared and music played. We were ushered out of our seats by a nice young looking woman, and I led the way into the tributes' building. Once there, we were sorted into our separate elevators.

I smiled at Rose and Kale as our doors opened, and I stepped in with Adam right behind me. "You guys ready for tomorrow?" I asked.

Rose smiled back at me. A pretty solid friendship had formed between us, though I wasn't sure how long it would last. "As ready as I'll ever be," she answered. The rest of the ride was silent, and I gave a small wave back at Rose and Kale as I stepped out of the elevator.

Adam went straight to his room, and I shrugged at my mentors. "Goodnight," I said pleasantly, and walked to my room. I quickly got into my pajamas and grabbed a piece of paper that was next to my bed. Every night since I have been here, I've written down my thoughts for the day.

I wrote a short note to Fireflight tonight, one that simply said that I loved her and I always would. I gave it to my mentors and asked them to give it to her if I didn't make it back. They just nodded.

The other thing that I did was to write down twenty things that I wished I would have done before I died. Travel to the Capitol on a friendly visit, tell my friends how much I appreciated them, sleep under the stars, and straighten my bright red curls. Get contacts, read fifty books, graduate high school, and pick wildflowers just because.

I began to cry, so I put the list back on my bedside table and turned out the light. That night, I cried, and I thought, and I fell asleep. I woke up and I cried some more and fell back asleep. The third and final time I woke up, I just relished the moment. Tonight I would sleep peacefully for most likely the last time. I sent my love to my family and hoped they felt it, then fell asleep and stayed asleep.

My sleep was dreamless that night for what would be the last time.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that concludes the pre-Games! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter even though I've been away for an atrociously long amount of time. I will not quit on this story no matter how long it takes me to finish it. I'm actually really excited about these Games and have already picked the Final Two!**

**The arena has been chosen, and so have the bloodbaths, so I'm ready to go. Expect a quick update or two, because I've got nothing but time as I'm now on summer vacation.**

**Thank you to all of those who are still sticking with the story, I appreciate your reviews more than you know. Though the sponsor system has been canceled, reviews still put the odds ever in your favor that your tribute will survive to the end and be featured often, even after the Games if they don't make it.**

**Also, I promise that most of the chapters won't be this long; I just wanted to make sure that everyone's tributes were featured, especially if it's for the last time in this story. If you get the chance, in your review, tell me who your favorite tribute is!**

**Thanks especially to Lostliveson4eva, my awesome beta who (thankfully) doesn't seem to mind my erratic updating. You rock; I appreciate you more than you know, Lost!**

**I hope your day is bright and sunny wherever you are!**

**Peace, Love, Happiness, Laughter,**

**~DG~**


	13. Day One: Just the Beginning

Chase Buck, District Five POV

I awoke the next morning with a feeling of foreboding in the pit of my stomach. Luckily, I was able to shake it off by the time I went off to breakfast.

Alice didn't seem in the mood to talk this morning, so I let her be and grabbed myself a plate of waffles.

"Good morning," my mentor greeted me.

"Morning, Wyatt," I responded. "It's pretty out today, isn't it?"

He nodded, stuffing his face with his food. I took a bite of the waffles and noticed that they were rather good.

Alice sighed. "Well, good morning to you guys, too! Glad to know you appreciate me," she grumbled.

Just then, Stella, her mentor, walked out of her room. "Good morning, Alice," she said. "If I were you, though, I'd get rid of your bad mood. It's bound to affect your performance."

She nodded, eager to follow her instructions. Alice adored Stella and looked up to her.

Before I knew it, breakfast was over, and Alice and I were in an elevator down to where we would get prepped before meeting our mentors again in our hovercraft to the Games. She looked at me, a solemn air about her.

"Listen, Chase," she started, "I've looked up to you like an older brother, but I know that you're in with the Careers." I opened my mouth, but she cut me off, holding up a hand. "I'm fine with it, Chase. If that's the direction you want to go, then I wish you luck. However, if we're not together, than we're going to be against each other. If I attack you or even kill you, I want you to know that I'm not thinking of you as Chase, my District partner, but as Chase, my enemy. When we enter the arena, our relationship dissolves unless we're allies. I would feel the same way about you attacking me, and I just want you to know that."

I was speechless. I had never actually considered that once we were in the arena, Alice and I would be anything less than friendly. Of course, I also never planned on her knowing that I was in with the Careers. I guess I had just planned on ditching her. Either way, her reactions to me in the arena would be hostile.

Sighing, I nudged her shoulder with my elbow. "Then I guess I'll enjoy my last hour as your big brother."

Her spiky brown hair nodded and leaned against my elbow. "I'm sorry, Chase, that it has to be this way."

I shrugged. "I understand. And no hard feelings from me, just to let you know."

That was it. We were separated after we got off the elevator, and I knew I would always remember her smile. I prayed to whoever was watching over me that we would never have to meet in the arena, and I would remember her like that, smiling sweetly, the little sister I never had.

I breezed through prep this time, not exactly paying attention to what my prep team did to my body. When my stylist Byron came out, I simply resigned myself to the fact that I was going into the arena. He noticed that I was a little far away this morning.

"Thinking about the Games?" he asked, his face filled with pity.

"Yes," I admitted. "I just hope I can come back from them." He nodded, understanding what I meant.

"You're a strong man, Chase," he said. "I believe in you."

"Thanks," I said, a little surprised. No one had ever called me a man before, not even my father, when he had been alive. I thought back to Coral and Bentley, and hoped that they would be strong throughout the Games.

Sooner than I would have liked, my mentor entered the room. He had on a grim face. "Well, Chase, this is it." He gave me a firm handshake, and I stepped out of the building with him to a waiting hovercraft.

The ride was silent, and I found myself to be very comfortable in what I was wearing. It was like a jumpsuit, it was an elastic type fabric. It was brownish-green and had a number five with a circle around it on my sleeve, presumably for my District.

Wyatt gave me a vial when we were about five minutes away from the arena. "Drink this," he instructed. "It has a tracker fluid in it, so the Capitol will know where you are. It can be removed after the Games, or after twenty days."

I swiftly drank it, downing it in one gulp and not thinking about what I was actually swallowing. Wyatt nodded in approval, and patted me on the back.

"Listen, Chase," he said, and I grimaced. I had heard those same words this morning, and they weren't good. "I'll be with you the whole time; you just won't be able to see me. I'll be monitoring your progress. I'm not allowed to reveal your sponsor amounts, but I think if you really need something I should be able to get it to you. With that said, I want you to find water and food. Make sure that whoever you're with is a good alliance. Leave it if necessary. But the most important thing to do is survive."

I was becoming lightheaded, so I just nodded. "Right. Survive," I mumbled.

The hovercraft slowed, and Wyatt and I stepped out into a hallway leading to a building. I started down the hallway before looking back. "Aren't you coming with me?"

He shook his head sadly. "No, but I have confidence in you, Chase. Make me proud." He waved and went back to the hovercraft. It disappeared before I could respond, so I walked down the rest of the hallway without looking back.

I was surprised to find Byron waiting for me with a few last minute adjustments. "We're allowed to make final touches," he told me. "And to give you the token that you handed in."

I nodded. I had forgotten about my token. He handed me a piece of leather cord with a long shard of beach glass on it. Coral had found it a year ago, claiming it was the best one she'd ever found. I hoped to return it to her. Once again, I hoped that Coral and Bentley would be with me in my mind and that they'd be strong.

He invited me to sit down on the couch, and I did so readily. Unfortunately, I only had five minutes before I had to go.

"Good luck, Chase," he said before sending me to the metal tube in the middle of the room. I stepped in, and a plastic casing closed around me. I took a deep breath. There was no going back.

"Bye," I said, managing a small wave. And the tube shot upward, ready or not, here I come.

Katarina Thorne, District Twelve POV

I didn't know what I expected when I got to the arena, so I guess that explains why I wasn't ready for what appeared. The Cornucopia, of course, the hub of Career activity, the golden prize, the cause of the bloodbath every year. That had to be there.

The arena, however, was a surprise. The Cornucopia was in a circle of land that looked to be just a metal surface. Around it, however, were three completely different areas. Eight tributes were in each different area, clearly divided. The areas stopped and started at certain points, no doubt about it.

Rain, Adam, Marissa, Moray, Aubrie, Jay, Ivy, and Saul were in what looked to be a lush field. They were in low grass, but beyond their tribute plates the grass got longer, and I was fearful of what was lurking in there.

Rose, Kale, Alice, Chase, Sayria, Stark, Anna, and Zander were in a barren wasteland. Beyond their plates, I noticed what looked like a hill – perhaps a volcano? I shuddered just thinking about it. There were also lots of mountains that I could see in the horizon.

Finally, Juliette, Jack, Zara, Rilan, Diana, Fletcher, Ben, and I were on a beach. I twisted a little bit and saw that beyond us there was an ocean. I could make out what looked like an island far away, and I wondered if the District Four tributes could swim out to it and see what was there.

All of the tributes were in a circle around the Cornucopia, probably fifty feet away or so. Each tribute's plate was about ten feet away from the next one. I smiled weakly at Ben, who was next to me. I had to be strong.

A voice came over the arena, belonging to Venus, the current announcer. "Welcome, tributes, to the Twenty-Eighth Hunger Games! Please do not step off of your plates before sixty seconds has passed and the gong has sounded. May the odds be _ever_ in your favor." I heard a click, and the voice disappeared.

With all the time I had spent surveying the arena, I guess our sixty seconds passed quickly. No attempts at suicide from any wayward tributes, thank goodness. Instead, everyone stayed on their plate, biding their time strategizing. I hadn't really thought about where to go, but the fields seemed like my best bet. I didn't have time to think, though, because before I was ready, the gong sounded.

I had great reflexes, so I was off in an instant. But so was everyone else. It was a mad dash to the Cornucopia, no one stopping, no one going anywhere but to the center of survival.

The young girl from Ten, Anna, was the fastest, and she made it to the Cornucopia first. She grabbed one thing that looked like an axe and ran away to the direction of the fields.

The other girl without an alliance, Alice from District Five, was there seconds later, grabbing a backpack and heading in the opposite direction to the mountains. I cursed and ran faster. I had to get to the supplies.

Fletcher got there shortly after, and then everyone else began closing in on the Cornucopia, shoving for supplies. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jay from District Eight reaching for something, but Saul from Eleven kicked him from his perch on the metal Cornucopia plate. The kick landed right on his throat, and he fell to the ground, unmoving.

The first kill of the Games. What a historic event. I bet some sick-minded people lost money on that one.

I managed to elbow my way up to the Cornucopia and grab a backpack. I wasn't sure what it contained, but I didn't care. I turned around right as Adam Way threw a knife at Chase from District Five. That in itself was surprising, because Chase was a member of his alliance. What made it even crazier was that at the same time, Rose from District Two shot an arrow at him.

The knife hit him in the back, and the arrow in the heart. He fell to the ground, letting out one scream, and then was silent.

One tear rolled down my face for him, and then I moved on. I would grieve later when the anthem played.

I attempted to elbow my way through a pair of fighting tributes and a girl trying to do the same thing as I was. I realized it was Juliette. "Hey, Juliette," I said to get her attention. She smiled at me.

"Hey. I see you got a backpack."

"Yeah, but we need more. I'll cover you to the Cornucopia," I said. She just nodded, and I put my back to her, shielding her from oncoming attacks. Thankfully, there were none.

She managed to grab a similar backpack, but hers was a little bigger. I turned to her. "Grab a knife or something, too." She nodded, and found one on the edge of the Cornucopia. "Let's go," I instructed.

We tried to go out to the side where I could see Ivy, Ben, and Jack had convened, but Rose Shea appeared in front of us. I noticed that behind her Kale, her District partner, shoved a knife into Zander Lox's back while the poor kid was reaching for a backpack. I shuddered. Mourn later, run now.

Rose smiled. "Going somewhere?" she asked. Her eyes lit up at the large backpack Juliette was holding. "Here, sweetheart, let me take that from you. Then you can run along."

"No," Juliette said, her voice cracking.

"Alright, have it your way," Rose said sweetly.

"Wait! She's just thirteen!" I yelled. Rose's axe swung towards Juliette's legs.

Everything that happened after that was in slow motion. I jumped towards Rose, and her face barely registered surprise. Juliette started to run towards me, but I yelled for her to go. Rose's axe swung at my legs, and I collapsed.

Juliette ran to Ivy, and they disappeared into the fields. Ivy cast one look back at me, and I motioned my hand. I was dying, I could tell. She gave me a small nod, understanding. She had to protect them and herself. They couldn't endanger themselves coming back for a dead body.

I sent my wishes, hopes, and spirits to my alliance, and then I was gone. Goodbye, everyone…

No canons have shot yet, so I knew the fighting wasn't quite over. It won't be over until someone wins. And everything goes black.

Kale Solomowitz, District Two POV

After the small Zander kid had been disposed of, and Rose had gotten the District Twelve girl, things died down. Adam scared off the pair from District Six, Zara and Rilan, and everyone else retreated.

"Well, good work," said Rose proudly. "Everyone unharmed?"

"I'm fine," Adam announced quickly.

"Same here," I seconded.

Murmurs of agreement came from Rain, Marissa, Stark, and Diana.

The only one who hadn't yet spoken up was Saul. "Are you alright?" I asked him.

His face grew irritated. "Yes, I'm fine," he spat.

"Just a question," I retorted.

"Then leave me alone," he replied. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, let's pick through what we've got," Rose commanded. Everyone mounted the Cornucopia and looked at what was inside.

"I've got a pack full of food," Marissa announced.

"Medicine supplies!" Diana called from the other side.

"Lots of weapons back here," Stark the Snake yelled from inside the deepest part of the Cornucopia.

"I found a tribute," Rain announced smugly. Everyone turned her way. I could tell that Rain was trying to be tough today, and I was glad. She could be really deadly; she was just a wimp at times.

"Show yourself!" Rose shouted.

The small girl from District Five—I had dubbed her the Pixie—was hiding behind the Cornucopia. "What were you doing?" I taunted. "Going to wait until we left?"

She nodded and fully revealed herself. "Yes. I-I wanted to join you guys. You're all very strong and I thought that maybe you could use my talents." Her voice was strong, until she surveyed our group. "Where's Chase?"

Marissa laughed. "Chase? That kid? Killed in the bloodbath."

"I-I'll be going, then," the Pixie said, a heartbroken look on her little face.

"No, wait," Rose said, stopping Pixie in her tracks. "You said you had talents. Name them."

"Well, I'm very good with knives. And I can identify lots of plants, and I'm good with medicine."

"Good for you," Rose continued. I shot a glance at her. What was she doing? Her eyes told me to back down. I nodded and continued to pick through the Cornucopia. Rain had also done the same thing and was currently holding a bow and arrow with a triumphant look on her face. I smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Th-thank you," the Pixie managed.

"You're welcome. Now, let me show you what you're going to have to contend with. My friend Rain here is very good with a bow and arrow." Rain looked up at the sound of her name. "Rain, come down here a moment, will you?"

As Rain made her way down the piles of stuff, Rose made her way up to her. I noticed her slyly whispering something to her, and then pulling her down.

"Rain, meet Alice. Alice, meet my friend Rain. There, you know each other. Now, Rain, please demonstrate some of the talent she will see in the Career group."

The Pixie's face lit up. She took that as a sign that she was accepted. Rain began to string her bow, and it was then that I realized Rose's plan. It was diabolical, too.

Rain showed the Pixie how she strung the bow. "Now, Alice, it's important that you know how to aim quickly. In the heat of battle, you may not have time to stand around and position your weapon of choice."

"A knife," Alice eagerly interjected.

Rain nodded, hearing but not caring. "Now, you ready your weapon." Rain strung her bow. "And then you aim." She turned to Alice. "And shoot." Rain's arrow went straight through Alice's heart, and there was a polite round of applause from the rest of the Careers. Rose patted Rain on the back.

Alice's dead body fell to the ground, an expression of shock still visible on her face.

As Rain turned around, I saw a flicker of something in her eyes that you could call regret, but it vanished as quickly as it came. Maybe she wasn't as tough as I thought.

In the meantime, we continued to pick through the Cornucopia, each tribute intent on finding a weapon to call their own. Rose came up with another axe, and a few backpacks were torn apart to get knives for Diana and Stark. Marissa came up with two tridents, and everyone managed to find something.

This year, the Career pack would be the deadliest yet, and everyone here knew it.

Fletcher Ross, District Nine POV

Moray and I had escaped the bloodbath, thank goodness, and the Careers didn't seem to be following her for revenge. That was probably the last thing on their minds. So I led her to a small cave that I had spotted on the beach. It was between the beach area and the fields, nestled into a little divot.

It was made entirely of sturdy rock and looked like a good structure. "Here," I said, handing Moray my backpack. She was clutching two knives and a dagger along with a canteen of water. She slung the backpack onto her shoulder as well. "I'm going to check out the cave, and I'll be right back. If anyone comes, just yell."

"Okay. You know I'm not helpless, right?" she said with a teasing smile.

"I know."

She sat down on the sand, picking it up and running it through her hands. I figured it would be nice for her to be on home turf.

I walked into the cave with my knife, ready to attack anything that leaped out at me. With the daylight dwindling outside, there was just enough for me to see my surroundings. It was actually just a cave, no pathways leading anywhere. It went about ten feet in and was about twelve feet wide. In the corner, there was a puddle formed from water dripping off the ceiling.

"It's safe!" I yelled to Moray. She eagerly skipped in, depositing our supplies on the floor.

"Let's see what's in this backpack," she said. We sat on the floor together in the back of the cave, our backs against the wall. At that moment, in the distance, we heard five canons go off in a row. She grabbed my hand. "Five people dead," she said forlornly.

"I know," I replied. She laid her head on my shoulder. "Do you still want to open that backpack?" I asked after several minutes had passed.

"Sure," she sighed. I grabbed the backpack and opened the latch to examine its contents.

Inside, we found a roll of crackers, a small bottle of water, and a small blanket rolled up. When we unrolled it, we found we could both fit under it. "What luck!" she exclaimed, smiling again.

"Very good luck," I said. We had a lot of supplies, and I figured we were good to go for the night. "I'm going to go out and find some branches or something to put over the entrance. Do you want to stay here to guard our supplies or come with me?"

She made a thinking face. "Let's see . . . I'm coming with you, silly!" She slapped my arm to punctuate her sentence.

"Okay, okay, Moray!" I said. We walked out of the cave towards the beach and started to pick up some wayward ferns and branches. "You know," I said. "The viewer's probably know by now that you're a girl."

She smiled. "Yeah. I know. I just hope they're not mad."

I frowned at her. "Why would they be mad?"

"I don't know. They just would."

"Don't worry," I reassured her. "No one could be mad with you."

She smiled at me and we continued to walk the beach until dusk. I couldn't help thinking that it was kind of romantic.

Aubrie Mahora, District Eight POV

Sayria and I disappeared to the mountains after the bloodbath was over. We stayed on the beach side, though, and found a place that had a lot of palm trees. We were just over the border from the mountain side.

It was pretty sheltered, so I figured it was a good place to camp. Sayria had managed to retrieve one sleeping bag, and I had a blanket in my backpack, so we unrolled the bag and covered it with the blanket.

She began to build a fire, and I went through the rest of our meager collection.

"At least we have a dagger," I muttered.

"It could be worse," she gently reminded me. I sighed.

"Yes. It could be worse." The reason I liked Sayria so much was because she was the gentler side of me. Sure, she was still fierce and could kick butt, but when she wasn't fighting, she was a great friend.

I leaned back against a tree. I hadn't seen Jay since the gong sounded, and I really hoped that he hadn't become a bloodbath victim. He was my connection to home. "Wherever you are, Echo, I hope you know I miss you," I whispered, touching my hairpin.

"Who is Echo?" Sayria asked. "You've been constantly talking about him."

I blushed. "Echo . . . Echo is a friend."

"Nuh-uh. You don't talk about friends that way," Sayria insisted. "Dish the dirt!"

I laughed at her expression. "Is that what you say in District Seven?" I asked, directing the attention away from me.

"It is. Now answer the question. Who's Echo?"

"Echo is, well, I'm not sure. We said we loved each other before I left, but . . ." I trailed off.

"But what?"

"But I don't know if we're officially dating," I said, spitting it out. "Jeez, Sayria."

"Sorry!" she said, quickly returning to making a fire pit with the wood she collected. The Needle was calm, cool, and always collected. I was the Needle.

There was a rustle in the bushes. Sayria and I both jumped up, and she backed towards me. "Do we have anything but the dagger?" she whispered. I slipped her our only other weapon, a small axe that I had picked up for her. Thanks." I nodded.

Suddenly, two figures emerged. "This looks like a good clearing," the boy said to his companion. I recognized them as the tributes from District Six. The girl, Zara, I think, pointed at us. The boy had his back to us, so he turned to see what Zara was pointing at.

"Get out," I hissed, making the first move by stepping towards him.

"Whoa. Calm down. Can't we share this clearing peacefully? There are much bigger enemies out there, and I think that we, well-" Zara rambled.

"Shut up," I said. She stopped. "We were here first. This is our territory. You would do well to leave."

Sayria recovered her fierce personality. "Or else we'll have to make you leave. Either way, you're going. You can leave on your own, or we can have it our way."

I resisted the urge to smile. She was just like me in her eagerness to fight. We made a good team.

The boy reassured us. "Oh, we'll be leaving. Sorry to interrupt you. Let's go, Zara," he said, pulling the girl's arm.

"Wait, Rilan," she said. "Just let us share this clearing for one night, and we'll be gone before noon tomorrow."

I exchanged a glance with Sayria. Her eyes said that she would fight, and I agreed with her. "Nom" I said. "You will leave. Now."

She opened her mouth for more negotiations, but I threw my knife at her heart. She fell over, and a canon shot. "I told you to leave," I said simply.

Sayria looked at Rilan. "Listen, I don't want to kill you, but I will unless you leave."

Rilan looked on the verge of tears, and I almost felt bad for him. "I'm leaving now," he said. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." He ran off quickly, and I could hear his footsteps rapidly getting quieter as he ran towards the mountains.

I sat down. "Well, that was unexpected."

"Good job," Sayria said, and returned to making her fire as I returned to my post by the tree. She laid her axe down next to me, and I lined it up with my dagger and our backpack of small food portions. I didn't regret my first kill, certainly not. I just wished that it could have been in a slightly less heartbreaking situation. I knew what it was like to have someone you were close to ripped away from you . . .

Juliette Starmite, District Three POV

Ivy had found us a place in the fields. It was a small clearing in the middle of all the tall grass. Our supplies were now laid out in one corner, totaling one loaf of bread, one full canteen, one full bottle, one empty bottle, two knives, one short sword, and three matches. Katarina's backpack held most of the valuable items, like the canteen and the matches. We also had a sleeping bag that was unfolded in the middle of the clearing.

Ivy walked over to me with a small slice of bread and the water bottle. "Here," she said. "Take a sip of the water, and the bread is yours." I smiled gratefully at her. I hadn't really talked to

anyone today after . . . after Katarina died for me.

The bread was actually fresh, so my stomach didn't growl too much after I had eaten it. The sky grew dark, and in the distance, we heard one more canon. That brought the total up to six today, including Katarina. Ivy came over and sat down on the bag next to me.

"Let's get some sleep," she said. "Ben, Jack, which one of you would like to take second watch?"

"I will," Jack volunteered. Ivy nodded in approval.

"Alright, then wake up Ben when you start to get drowsy. Ben, you take watch until morning," Ivy instructed.

I noticed that she hadn't put me into the watch, and I didn't say anything. She was trying to give me time to rest and recover, apparently.

She leaned down and brushed the hair from my forehead. "Sleep," she whispered.

I laid down on the sleeping bag, with Ben and Jack on my left. They were letting the girls have the sleeping bag. It was kind of cute how they were trying to be chivalrous.

Ivy was the only one still sitting up as she took the first watch. "Oh," she whispered. "Look at the sky."

Panem's seal appeared in the sky, and the national anthem began to play. I braced myself to see the faces of the dead tributes. The invisible screen went dark for a moment, and then the first face appeared. I saw the girl from District Five's smiling face. Alice, I think. After her was her District partner, Chase. That meant that all of the normal Career tributes were still alive.

After Chase was the girl from District Six whose name I couldn't remember. Then the boy from District Eight, Jay. The boy from District Ten, Zander. Finally, the last face to appear in the sky that night was Katarina's. I rolled over in my sleeping bag and started to cry. I didn't care if anyone heard me or saw me. I just cried. For Katarina, for the five other people that had died today. For the rest of us who would surely die. For the one person who would be the victor because they would have to live knowing that the rest of us died.

I felt a hand on my back and looked up to see Ben. He was sitting next to me now, having moved over from the other side of the clearing. I sat up and laid my head on his shoulder.

"I missed you when you left," I whispered. "I woke up and you were gone." A sudden reality hit me hard. "Now I could wake up here, and you could be gone for good."

He held my hand. "I'll always be here for you, Juliette. I promise." He fixed me with a gaze that made it hard not to believe him.

Comforted, I laid down next to him, still holding his hand. Jack was fast asleep, and I could tell that Ivy was trying not to look at us. "Good night," I whispered.

"Good night. Sleep tight."

"Don't let the bedbugs bite," I finished. Ben and I would always say that to each other before we went home every night. It was one of the last things he said to me.

So I fell asleep, dreaming of knives and things that went bump in the night, but in every dream, Ben was there to protect me.

**A/N: So, maybe I lied when I said that all the chapters wouldn't be that long. :D Do you guys want me to start splitting up the days into different chapters? Let me know in one of your FANTABULOUS reviews. I would appreciate it a ton. Besides, you know you really want to push that Review button.**

**A shout-out to Europa22 for giving me permission to use her eulogy idea and to Lostliveson4eva for being my patient beta!**

**Also, thanks to Nightfall12, Europa22, booksandmusic97, and MockingjayForever21 for being my ONLY reviewers. You guys get an extra helping of cookies. XD**

**Eulogy time! In order of death.**

**Jay Harrow- I don't like to kill people, so I'm sorry you had to die, but you were a huge Gary Stu and had been submitted to a bunch of stories. Aubrie misses you, but I don't. Have a nice afterlife.**

**Chase Buck- I liked you a lot, and I liked the big brother thing you had going for Alice, but I had to kill you for plot. Adam and Rose are evil, I know, and Alice went looking for you. I'll miss you, and I hope you enjoy your afterlife!**

**Zander Lox- You were really funny to write about, but you weren't very strong. I hope that wherever you are now, they have lots of real meat hamburgers and they don't care that you ramble. I'll miss you, too!**

**Katarina Thorne- You were one of the hardest people to kill this chapter because you had a genuinely nice heart. However, that motivated you to jump in front of that axe. Tisk, tisk. Anyway, I really liked you, and I want you to know that you'll be remembered as the first SYOC character I ever got. I'll miss you, so have a nice afterlife.**

**Alice Catching- I loved you because you were an adorable little spunky pixie. Sorry that you had to go after Chase, but I knew you would regret what you said to him. I hope that the readers will miss you like I do, and it will motivate them to review and petition for your resurrection. XD Have a nice afterlife!**

**Zara Giovanni- You were a pretty nice person, but you should've learned that not everyone is nice like you are. Especially Aubrie. :) I'll miss you because you were a good character, but I hope you have a nice afterlife wherever you are.**

**I hope it's sunny wherever you live today!**

**Peace, Love, Happiness, Laughter,**

**~DG~**


	14. Day Two: Part 1: The Good and the Bad

Moray Melbourne, District Four POV

I woke up to the sound of the waves beating against the shore. I walked outside for a breath of fresh air, and noticed that it looked like the island was getting closer. I blinked. Was that even possible? I decided to ignore it and woke up Fletcher.

The cave was beginning to light up with the rising sun, so I gently awakened Fletcher so as not to scare him. "Fletcher," I whispered. "Time to get up."

He blinked his eyes blearily, as if forgetting where he was. "Five more minutes," he groaned.

I rolled my eyes at him. "No. You're getting up now." He bolted upright. "Finally," I muttered.

"The Games," he said.

"Yep," I replied, confirming his unasked question. "Day Two."

"Okay," he said. "We know where we stand."

"We do?" I asked, confused.

"We do," Fletcher replied. "Let's go out to the beach, maybe venture over to the fields a little bit, check out our surroundings. If we end up getting low on food before we move, we should know where to find it. Did you get edible plant training?"

"Only a little," I admitted.

"That's okay," he said. "I got plenty."

I laughed. "That makes one of us." We exited our cave after securing it with a woven wall of ferns and branches we had made last night. We strolled for a while, not really talking, just looking. Fletcher pointed out some bushes and plants here and there. To be honest, I just enjoyed his company. Fletcher and I got along better than any other person I'd met. Maybe it was because he accepted me as a girl. I wasn't a clumsy boy, or a weird looking girl. I was just Moray to him.

When we got back to our cave, I was a little tired from our excursion. We sat against the wall on our blanket. The temperature today was moderate, unlike yesterday's chilly temperatures, so we didn't need the blanket yet. We were, however, holding hands, making the room much warmer.

He sighed. "So, tell me about yourself."

I laughed. "You sound like Caesar."

"Sorry," he replied, shrugging.

"Well, I'm an orphan. And my adopted dad, Series, he's really my only friend. He apprenticed me as a diver for his company because he said I showed promise."

Fletcher looked impressed. "Wow. I take it you're a good swimmer, then."

"Good?" I laughed. "I'm excellent." I took this as an opportunity to tease him. "I bet you're horrible."

"I'm actually a good swimmer, thank you very much," Fletcher replied indignantly.

I mm-hmm-d him casually, making him think that I doubted his claims.

"I can!" he insisted.

"Sure," I appeased him. "So tell me about you. How'd you learn to swim?"

He relaxed. "Well, I used to live in a wealthier part of my District, and we had a small pool at the neighborhood playground."

"Wealthier?" I said disbelievingly. "That would've had to have been the Mayor's own house. After all, District Nine is one of the poorest-" I cut off. "Sorry," I whispered, ashamed.

Fletcher chuckled. "No, no. It's fine. We did live in a very wealthy portion of our District, but we couldn't afford it for long, so we moved out. I did go back with my friends, though. Anyway, I have a mom and dad, and one brother, Myles. People say he's much nicer than I am."

"Nicer than you? But you put up with my moods and ramblings!" I protested.

That got a full-on laugh out of him. "I do," he admitted. "But only because you're cute when you ramble." I blushed. "Most people, well, I just don't get along with most people. There's just so much bad in the world that it crushes the good like a cold wind blowing out a bright flame. When I find the good, it gives me hope."

"Wow. That sounded really philosophical," I said, a bit awed. Fletcher looked at me, as if he expected me to run away scared. I broke our hand hold by reaching up to brush my auburn bangs out of my eyes.

"Sorry."

There was a moment of silence, and then I smiled. "Nothing to apologize for."

He returned my smile, and we went back to holding hands.

Ivy Fields, District Eleven POV

After a small breakfast, I decided that two of us should go out and look for food sources. The loaf of bread was quickly disappearing in a group of four. "Who wants to go with me?" I asked. When Juliette raised her hand, I quickly shook my head no.

"I'll go," Ben volunteered. Juliette got a look of panic in her eyes, and everyone noticed it.

"No, no," Jack said. "I can go. I want to get out there, anyway. And you'll be better guarding the camp."

Ben shot him a grateful look, and I resisted the urge to smile. "Alright then, Jack, come with me and grab a knife or two." I already had the short sword with me. He armed himself accordingly, and then stood with me at the edge of the clearing. "We'll be back soon," I told the others. "You guys have a knife to defend yourselves, and we won't be far away. Goodbye, now."

Juliette gave me a small wave, and we made our way through the long grass. As soon as we were out of hearing range, I gave a small smile and laughed a little bit.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked me.

"Nothing," I said, pressing my lips together.

Jack shrugged and examined his knife. Before we knew it, we stumbled upon a berry bush. I cursed under my breath.

"What's wrong?"

"Juliette knows all the plants. She had all the plant training."

Jack laughed at me. "So did I. I pretty much went wherever she did for the first two days."

I let out a breath. "Thank God. So, are these safe?"

"Safe? They're virtually the safest berries you can eat. You should know that, they grow these in District Eleven."

"Well, I assume they do, but I wouldn't grow them. I work in herbs, not berries."

"Oh, okay then. Let's gather these and take them back. There's a ton here, and they grow back really quickly. See these buds? They'll sprout again tomorrow morning." Jack gave me a quick lesson on the berries, which were called everberries. We quickly grabbed all we could and brought them back to camp.

Juliette's face lit up when we arrived. "Everberries!" she exclaimed. "And you weren't gone long, so they must be close. Those are an-"

"Excellent food source," I finished. She gave me a puzzled look. "Jack gave me a lecture on the value of these berries and etcetera."

"Well, let's eat!" Juliette said. I put my supply of berries down on the sleeping bag and we divided them between us. Each person got at least nine or ten berries, and they were very filling. "This was really good luck." Juliette commented for the thousandth time.

"I know," Jack responded. "We'll go back tomorrow morning, too. And every other morning we're here, I guess."

I nodded, my mouth full of berries. This was the best thing that could have happened to us.

Marissa Lionheart, District Four POV

I awoke to Adam gently shaking me awake before moving on to Rose. "Wake up, everyone," he said. "It's a brand new day in the Hunger Games and we've got people to eliminate!"

Rose laughed and stood to stretch. Yawning, she started to give orders. "Diana, Rain, start breakfast. Use whatever we have, or go out and hunt for it. If you need to go out, let me know and take Saul with you. Kale, Adam, start searching the perimeters around the Cornucopia. If you find traces of people living there, report back immediately. Marissa, you and I will continue to sort through the Cornucopia."

No one questioned her orders, though I did feel like grumbling a little. I had just gotten up, and now she was giving orders. Ugh.

"What about me?" Stark asked from his position in the corner.

Rose sighed. "I don't know. Join whatever group you want."

He scrambled up to join Adam and Kale on their way out. Adam groaned, but Kale gave a good-natured smile at the boy. He had been the one to initially invite him into the group. I had to admit, he was a funny little fellow, and quite handy with knives and any manner of sharp objects. Kale had nicknamed him the Snake, and it had stuck.

I ruffled his hair on his way past, and he gave me one of his cute little smiles. Then he, a slightly disgruntled Adam, and an affectionate Kale disappeared behind long, tall grass.

Diana, Rain, and Saul went in the direction of the beach, where there was a small forest of palm trees and other trees, hoping that there would be some game.

With everyone gone, I felt a little nervous that Rose and I were alone. She and I weren't enemies, but she was dangerous. So was I. That made me feel slightly better. As I dug through the Cornucopia's remains, I thought about my family back home, and my watching father.

Surely my mother wouldn't be letting Millie and Brady watch the Games. For their sake, I hoped not. Annabeth would be childishly reveling in my torture, for sure. Azure . . . oh, Azure. I volunteered for her, and I could just hope that she didn't feel any pain. I wasn't sorry that I did it. She was the only one of my step-siblings that liked me, so I could at least be sure that she was watching tearfully. I sent her my love.

Caspian, Remus, and Romulus were most likely all glued to the TV. As my real brothers, I could imagine that they would feel worried . . . Skylynn was a question mark. She may or may not have been watching, for all I know she didn't care. I shrugged it off and threw another axe down to the pile.

"That should be good," Rose remarked, dusting off her hands as Rain burst back into the clearing. Saul and Diana were on her heels.

"Mutts," Rain gasped.

Rose and I exchanged a glance, before grabbing our weapons. She started barking commands. "Saul, climb on top of the Cornucopia. Aim at the mutts from above and surprise them. Rain, go for a direct hit with your arrows. Diana, just throw stuff." I backed up, holding out a spear that I would throw if necessary.

It was then that Adam, Kale, and the Snake came back. "Snake!" Rose said. "Join Saul. Use your . . . sharp object skills."

Stark did as she asked, and Adam and Kale joined Rose and me in the line behind Rain and Diana. The mutts came charging into the clearing, and I had to force myself to stay put. They were some of the scariest things I had ever seen. They were people—almost. Each of them was hooded in long, black cloaks with white hands. That alone wouldn't have been bad if they didn't have faces.

There were simply dark abysses where their faces should have been. I saw Rain shoot an arrow right into one of the creature's hearts, and it fell down. The creature standing next to it went down from a knife thrown by Saul, and three in a row done in by the Snake's daggers. That kid was deadly.

"Marissa!" Saul shouted from on top of the Cornucopia. "Behind you!" Without realizing what was behind me, I whirled around and jabbed my spear into the unknown assailant. It was another creature. It dissipated into dust, and my confidence returned.

After five minutes of fighting the creatures, their numbers thinned, and the reinforcements coming out of the forest dwindled. We were all fighting our best, but suddenly I heard a scream. I didn't stop to see who it was, when I heard a different scream. I finished off the mutt I was fighting and noticed that there were no more. They were all crowded around two bodies.

I looked around the clearing. Diana was missing, but no one else was. The pack huddled together, weapons at the ready. The mutts, satisfied with their kill, left, and I noticed that they had blood dripping from their hoods.

"They drank her blood," Rain said weakly. "I think . . . I think she's dead."

We rushed over to Diana's body, and found it to be lifeless and weak. I looked at Rain, but she was doing her best to fight tears.

"So who's this?" Adam asked, gesturing to the body beside Diana.

Stark studied the face. "I think it's that loner, Anna, from District Ten."

"Oh."

"I saw her run in. I think she was being chased by the mutts, too."

"Oh."

There was silence. "Well, I guess we'd better leave for a few minutes so the hovercrafts can pick up the bodies," Rose said. "Did you guys catch anything for breakfast?"

"We found these plants that Rain said are edible," Saul told her, holding up a fistful of something green.

"Yes, we can cook them," Rain commented.

"Alright, let's go." And with that, we were off. I couldn't help but think that from what I had seen so far, the arena was a horrible place to die.

**A/N: So, I've decided to split Day Two into two parts just so I could give you guys an update. I would really appreciate it if you reviewed! **

**Special thanks to…**

**Lostliveson4eva for being my beta!**

**MockingjayForever21, Europa22, and Bumblebee27 for being my only reviewers. You guys rock, thanks for being with me.**

**Finally…eulogy time!**

**Diana Ross~ You were interesting to write, especially with the Career girls intimidating you, but for the sake of plot, you had to die. Will you come back? Maybe. Will you be alive and sane? Probably not. Bye, have a nice afterlife :)**

**Anna Moore~ You hated Zander, and he died last chapter, so I guess you got to be happy for a day. It was kind of stupid to follow the mutts…but we'll see more on that next time. Maybe people will feel bad, maybe they won't. Either way, please refrain from being mean in your afterlife. Bye!**

**Peace, Love, Happiness, Summer Days,**

**~DG~**


	15. Day Two: Part 2: Biding Your Time

Anna Moore, District 10 POV

(Before the mutts)

The darkness seemed far more welcoming that it should've been. As the birds chirped around me, I was reluctant to open my eyes. The stupor of sleep that had perhaps guarded me from realizing my true surroundings had disappeared, leaving a disgruntled attitude in its wake. I never was particularly a morning person.

I hummed to myself to fill the silence as I prepared breakfast—bread with a half slice of cheese.

Out of the blue, I could hear something very close by trampling through the forest. Silently thanking my lucky stars that I had prepared for this, I grabbed my already packed backpack. I messily folded my blanket, shoved the rest of the bread down my throat, and set off running toward the Cornucopia.

"Stay calm," I whispered to myself. I tried to slow my heart rate (without success) when I heard labored breathing chasing after me.

In my concentration, I had forgotten how short of a morning I had. I pushed my legs to run faster, silently laughing at whatever irony the deities had left me with.

Zander could never have kept up with this pace; he would have been dead by now. Although I felt a little remorse for ditching him, this Game was all about survival. He would not have helped me survive, just as he never helped himself. Still, I couldn't bring myself to care too much.

The breathing got closer, and my legs moved faster. I thought with a shock that I couldn't move any faster, and that I was wearing myself out. I was going to have to fight this one out.

I suddenly came upon the Cornucopia clearing and saw the Careers in a battle with scary creatures that reminded me of lifeless bodies. So I turned around only to find that I was facing two of the same mutts.

Their haunted, corpse-like eyes seemed to see through me, and I shivered in their wake. This was not part of the plan.

As I was reaching for my axe, I blindly realized that they had been chasing me towards here the whole time, where they could conquer me in larger numbers. They were smarter than our average mutts, and I was like a pig, being corralled.

But before I could get my hand on any sort of weapon, I felt a bite to my throat. I tried to struggle, push against the force sucking the very life from my veins, but it was pointless. I vaguely remembered a tale about creatures like leeches that drained the blood of their victims. I didn't want to die. If I had to die, I had to make it memorable, right? Memorable... that's me. The girl that got killed by a _mutt. _For some reason, I wanted to cry; but I didn't. I promised...

The fight slowly dripped out of me as my head dropped limply onto the ground. I couldn't help but think: _So this is what it's like to die. _

I didn't know dying would be this simple, this blissful. It simply felt as if I was falling asleep. Darkness comforted me once more.

Rilan Hemworth, District Six POV

I had found refuge in a small clearing between palm trees and forest trees. After Zara had been so bluntly killed by Aubrie, I found myself stumbling away. I made her a promise that I couldn't keep. Now it looked like if one of us was going home, it would be me.

This year, we had been as close as brother and sister. I never wanted it to be something more, we were just siblings. And I had been ready to give my life for her. But she was too nice, too trusting, too believing to understand that these Games were not a place for pleasantries. It was kill or be killed.

So now my resolution was to get back for Zara, no longer for anyone else. It was her death that I would avenge, no matter the cost.

As I was walking back to my 'shelter' after a bit of scavenging (which proved to be very hard), I was surprised to hear a cannon. Then yet another cannon. I shuddered. Two more people dead, two more lives lost, two more families weeping, two more victims of the Games. It was a shame, really, but I didn't feel too bad, as it wasn't me.

The area around me began to seem less than familiar, and I frowned as I realized that I had walked in the wrong direction while thinking about deaths. In the distance I could see the golden horn tip of the Cornucopia.

Silently, I freaked out while debating my options. I could leave silently, which would run the risk of me getting caught while taking care not to step on the wrong things that would make loud noises. I could run, which would get me away faster, but I would make more noise. Or, I could calmly surrender to the Careers and ask to join them.

I quickly ruled out the last option, and the second didn't seem so smart either. So I turned around and tried to silently creep off. Unfortunately, I saw it coming and I couldn't do anything about it. My foot was already crashing down when I saw the large pile of leaves.

But only until my foot was in the pile did I realize that it wasn't just a noisy pile of leaves. It was a trap. My whole body was in a hole before I knew it, and there was a searing pain in my ankle. I think I had broken it.

A figure loomed above me. "Uh… Aubrie? Aubrie, you might want to see this." said a voice that was vaguely familiar.

"What?" another familiar, yet groggier, voice complained. There was a tapping from above that sounded oddly like somebody tapping their foot impatiently.

"We, uh, we caught something. Or more like some_one_."

I heard a faint rustling and a second figure was there, with long black hair and something purple shining in her hair. I assumed this was the Aubrie girl. Aubrie…it was all coming back to me now. So the shorter girl must be…Sayria.

"Nice catch, Sayria." Aubrie said, a hint of what must be pride in her voice. "Now let's see who it is."

I tried to protest, but all that came out was a low moaning noise. Two pairs of hands came down and tied a rope around my middle, before using it to lift me up on a pulley system they built out of branches.

"Rilan, how nice to see you!" Aubrie said. The happy smile that lit her face, I knew, was not out of excitement to see me, but excitement to kill me.

I tried again to mumble a response, but all I heard were the same guttural noises.

Sayria looked unsure for a moment. "Aubrie, he's really hurt."

"I know, Sayria, I know."

Finally, I managed to get something out. "Please…don't kill me." I coughed, and a long silence filled the air. "I…I'll join you. I know where…the Careers-" Another cough, another pause. "The Careers are - I know where they are. Just…give me a…chance."

Aubrie rolled her eyes. "We'll keep you here for a while." Then she took a look at my ankle, which was swelling. "You're not going anywhere. Sayria, put him back in the hole."

And so I was gingerly dropped back into my prison. The mud acted like metal bars, the sky above as taunting as a treasure just out of reach of your fingertips. Somehow, I knew it was going to be a long night.

Saul Giovanni, District Eleven POV

After we had gotten back from cooking breakfast, Diana and the loner girl's bodies had been removed. The arena seemed quiet - an eerie silence had filled the air. All of us were on alert, though. One of us was posted as guard the whole time.

Rose called a meeting to order as dusk set in. "Alright, everyone gather round."

Of course, everyone did as she asked.

"After the, um, attack, earlier, you all know I have posted a guard. But here's what I want to know. Why are we waiting around for people or threats to come to us? We're supposed to be the threat! We are the Career Pack, people, and we need to go out there and prove it. Melissa-"

"Marissa," Marissa corrected her gently.

Rose smiled. "Sorry. Marissa and I have already found each of you a weapon, and if you have found that inadequate please speak up now."

Of course, nobody did.

"Okay, second… order of business, I suppose. I want your thinking caps on for this one. Who on this Hell so we want to attack? Who are our most vulnerable targets that we can easily pick off, and who are the biggest threats that we need to eliminate?"

I smiled grimly. "My District partner, Ivy, is with those little kids. The two from Three and the boy from Twelve." Rain's face betrayed a little emotion behind her eyes, but she didn't say anything or comment.

Adam shrugged. "That sounds good with me."

"Me too," Kale seconded, nodding.

"And me!" Stark added eagerly, trying to keep up with Adam, Kale, and I. The boy was a bit like a shadow, and it was creepy. He liked to follow me around. But ever since he followed me around in the Training Center, I couldn't help but like him a little. Sure, he was quirky, but he was fun quirky.

"Alright, I guess that's good," Marissa said, putting on a bemused face at Stark's actions. She was the one with the most tolerance for him.

All of us looked at Rain. "What? Oh, uh, that's fine," she said, looking distant.

"Something to tell us, Rain?" Rose asked her. It blew my mind how Rose, Rain, and Marissa all seemed to be best friends. Normally, all of the Career girls are catty, but Rain was docile, Marissa was nice, and Rose was the authority. They all got along really well and not once have I seen them fight. I guess they were just saving it up. I grinned at my own thoughts.

"No," Rain said quietly, but definitively. A few coughs were heard and everybody turned away conspicuously.

"Okay. So is everyone ready to go?" Stark raised his hand, and Rose sighed.

"Yes?"

"Well…it's almost dark. We could attack really early in the morning, when the watch is apt to be tired and everyone else will still be asleep."

We all looked at each other, slowly comprehending the logic behind his words.

"The kid has a good point," Marissa spoke up, and Kale nodded solemnly, looking at Stark, who looked slightly bewildered. He grinned widely at the group, proud to finally be acknowledged for something other than annoyance, I guessed.

"True!" Rain added.

"Fine, fine, we'll wait until the morning. But then we're attacking, okay? Is that alright with you, Stark?" Rose added a little sarcastically.

The Snake nodded meekly.

"Okay. Saul, you take first watch. Then I'll go then Adam, then…Marissa. Good night."

And with that, the meeting was over. Rose had an uncanny power to start and end things with just a simple action. Everyone respected her, though we had no idea why. It could be because she kicks butt in a fight, but…yeah, that was definitely it.

Everyone drifted off to their aptly found sleeping bags from the Cornucopia, and I took up my watch position just as the Capitol's seal appeared in the sky.

I saw Diana's face, and then the loner girl from Ten after hers, and then it was over. I sighed unhappily. The Capitol must be getting restless with little to no death. Just one third of us were gone, and it was almost Day Three. I prepared myself for a day full of death tomorrow.

_Good night, Panem._

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I know this chapter was a little bit shorter than normal, but I just wanted to cover the groups that I didn't get to before and give you a little more of the Careers. Aren't they fun? ^_^**

**Remember to pretty please (with cookies on top) review! A round of applause to booksandmusic97, MockingjayForever21, Nightfall12, writergirl123456789, Europa22, and TheRunningMuffin for being my reviewers of the last chapter! You guys pushed me over 100 and motivated me to write. I love you all and I don't know what I would do without you.**

**Also, a huge thanks to Momentarily, my twin, who stood in as the temporary beta reader for this chapter since my other awesome beta, Lostliveson4eva, is unable to right now. You rock, sis!**

**Review for the satisfaction of sharing the love and possibly a faster update.**

**Peace, Love, Happiness, Writing,**

**~DG~**


	16. Day Three: Four Canons

Sayria Nell, District Seven POV

As dawn broke and I woke up, still wishing for more sleep, I saw Aubrie already sitting up and looking to the rising sun, drawing an "E" in the dirt.

"What are you doing?" I asked her, quite curious.

She turned around and dropped the stick she was using. "Uh…" she said, looking around. "Keeping a watch on our prisoner."

I pointed the other way. "The trap is over there."

"I know. But I could hear him if he wanted to escape. I'm fooling him." I could tell she was improvising.

"Aubrie, does the 'E' stand for Echo?"

"No!" she said immediately. "It stands for…East. That's what. Don't you see the sun? We should remember which way is which, just in case. That's all." she explained, with a glare telling me not to ask anymore.

I sighed and turned to our dwindling fire, throwing a small branch in and watching it splutter to life. "Do you want toast or toasted crackers? Or melted cheese on crackers?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Whichever we have more of."

"We don't have more of anything. It's been two days already, and we didn't have much to begin with." I stated angrily.

"Then forage for something!" she said, finally giving up her position by the 'E' to walk over to me, an annoyed look on her face. "I have to take care of him." She jerked her index finger towards the hole, where we still heard moans and groans.

"I can't, Aubrie." I explained; my cheeks hot. "You know I'm no good at defending myself. I can't go out alone! You're the brawns, and I'm-" I cut off, realizing what I was about to say. "I can't."

She sat down on a log, huffing. "Then just make whatever we have."

I took out the crackers and managed a half a slice of cheese to be rationed between the crackers. "Enjoy." I heard my own grim voice say before handing Aubrie her cheese and cracker sandwich—or at least what we had to call a sandwich now.

Just then, a silver parachute floated down from the sky, and we looked at each other in amazement. I didn't know we had sponsors.

The parachute number said "8," and my heart fell a bit, realizing that it was meant for Aubrie. She quickly untied the bow and we found a loaf of bread next to a steaming hot bowl of eggs and a bottle of water. She laughed, giddy now.

"Here's breakfast!" she said, happy again. "We don't have to worry about that, then."

"And if we only eat half of them, I can heat the rest up later." I suggested.

"Fine, then. That sounds like a plan."

I smiled at her, but part of me inside realized how quickly we had just turned on each other for food. Did the arena rip apart even the closest of allies? But then I also realized that we didn't have much of a friendship base to go on. I smiled at her in a chariot out of pure sympathy for her horrible costume. Maybe we really didn't have too much in common.

In the quiet of eating sounds and groans, Aubrie spoke up out of the blue. "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, Sayria."

I shrugged, all earlier doubts gone. Aubrie was a good person. "That's okay. I'm sorry for snapping back."

We fell back into an easy banter, laughing about the most random things. The sun was almost at its peak before we fell back against a tree, tired. "I suppose I'll go check on Rilan." Aubrie said.

"I'll come with you."

"Okay." she said brightly, smiling and getting up, but not forgetting her blow darts, tucking them inside her jacket that she was lucky enough to swipe from the Cornucopia. We walked over to the hole eagerly, anxious to see our prisoner. Strangely enough, there were no more moans.

"Do you think he died?" I asked Aubrie nervously.

"I don't know, maybe." she answered, shrugging, but still smiling.

I was the first to reach the hole. "Aubrie!" I shouted. "He's not here! He must have escaped while we were eating."

Aubrie growled. "He won't be gone for long. He was bleeding out when we saw him. Look, he even left a trail for us. How nice of him." She pointed to a line of blood that looked like it had dripped out of someone onto the ground. I shuddered as Aubrie pursued it.

"Looks like he's really starting to lose a lot of blood…" Aubrie mused to herself, following the trail with one eye and keeping a lookout with the other.

I sighed. "Aubrie, why don't we just let him die on his own? Why do we have to follow him?"

She turned around and gave me a 'Seriously?' look, then went back to following the blood.

"This could be an animal's blood that someone killed, or another person, or a trap…" I went on.

"Yes, you're right. It could be. But don't worry, we already found your friend. He's bleeding to death a few yards away. But don't worry, we won't make you watch."

"D-don't worry?" I asked.

"Right."

But I wasn't so sure, because the voice definitely did not come from Aubrie. The voice belonged to another female…and then she stepped out of the trees. The girl from District Two! Rose…Rose what's-her-name. I wanted to gasp at this twist, sort of like the old soap operas my grandmother told me that her grandmother watched.

The worst was yet to come, as the rest of the Careers followed behind Rose. "We knew we were going to hunt someone today, but look, friends, our prey decided to come to us."

"We aren't even close to the Cornucopia!" I protested. Aubrie took my hand and gave me a look that told me to shut up.

"Right you are, little one." the large boy on the right said. I identified him as Kale, the boy from District Two, also known as Rose's district partner. "We've been searching all morning, and here you come running right to us. Thanks." He grinned sadistically.

Adam, the boy from District One, sauntered forward and stood right in front of me. I quickly countered and stood left of him. He moved to stand in front of me and I went back to the right. He laughed and fast as lightning reached out and grabbed my hands. "Don't try that again." he said menacingly.

I nodded, too afraid to say anything. The only thing I could think of was that I hoped Aubrie could save us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aubrie make a lunge for Adam, but was immediately held down by Kale and the big, brawny one. Saul, I think.

The only boy not holding one of us down was the one and only one that I think I could never hate: my District partner, Stark. He was so young and innocent…how did he get in with the Careers?

He looked away a little bit when I tried to meet his eyes, but that only worried me for a second, because I had other things to think about. Adam was mad. "I told you two not to try anything. Are you going to save your little friend?" he asked Aubrie. I assumed he was talking about me, and I felt my eyes getting hot with held-back tears.

She growled.

"There's nothing you can do about it." he said, smirking, and then a searing pain shot through my wrists as I realized that he twisted them 180 degrees. I gasped for breath. "Stop…please…" I didn't even know it was possible to have this much pain coming from a single part of my body. This was worse than every ache I'd had after chopping wood, every sorrow I had felt, every pain I've had in my life. And I had a feeling this was just beginning.

Rose Shea, District Two POV

I smiled as Adam, Kale, and Saul held down the two girls, and especially when Adam started to twist the small one's wrists. "Kale, Saul, tie her down." I instructed. They complied immediately, using a piece of rope that Stark had readily supplied to tie up Aubrie so they could focus on the tiny one.

"Hey, Stark, this is your District partner, right?" Kale asked, motioning to the small one.

"Yeah, that's Sayria." the Snake replied in disgust.

"Stark!" she said pleadingly. "Come on. Please, tell them to stop." Sayria begged. Now, Adam had begun to twist her elbows. His strength gave me a pleasant shock today.

However, we all looked at Stark, wondering if he would appreciate not being looked at as disgusting, but instead as a savior. He laughed coldly. "And why should I do that?"

"Because you're my…" she paused to cry out in pain. "My district partner, and because everyone back home is watching and waiting for you to do the right thing." She emphasized the last two words.

The Snake rolled his eyes. "The right thing isn't always a good thing." He waved his hands in a "go away" gesture. "She's all yours, Adam."

Adam grinned, and I could see his sadistic side coming on. I leaned against a tree where Rain had a hand to her forehead and Marissa was sitting down, looking bored, but staring intently at Aubrie. "Are you okay, Rain?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Just a bit of a headache." she said quietly. "I get these a lot."

I smiled at her and turned away. Something about Rain made me like her, made me not detest her apparent weakness. She was there when it counts, and that was what mattered. The way she killed that Alice girl was absolutely brilliant.

Adam looked back at me, and I nodded to him. I was ready to enjoy the show. "Kale, Saul, you can hold her down." The boys shrugged and went over to the giddy Adam and his prisoner. Kale held down her arms and Saul held down her legs while Adam strolled over to our weapons pile and carefully picked out an axe and a gun.

That was one thing that surprised me. Guns weren't used much in the Games, as a matter of fact they were hardly ever here. But Adam used one in his training session and the Gamemakers were so impressed that they made sure there was one in the Cornucopia.

"Let's get started, shall we?" he asked happily.

"Wait! Take me instead!" Aubrie shouted out. Adam didn't give her as much as a glance, but instead stood over Sayria, analyzing his moves.

"Get a move on, Adam." Marissa said dryly.

"Shut up, will you?" he said, turning around and walking over to her.

"Just get it over with. Kill them and move on. Too much liability to let them be for so long." Stark pitched in happily, sounding unusually chipper.

"You shut up, too!" Adam shouted, turning on the kid with the axe.

"He's right." Kale said.

"Shut up."

"Seriously, just stop the drama, Adam." Rain said in a shaky voice.

"Shut UP!"

"Adam, dude…" Saul said warily.

The once-happy sadist was now furious. I could see him stalking towards Saul, his mouth open to probably yell at him.

I huffed in frustration and stood up. "All of you shut up!" I practically screamed. There was silence over the clearing.

"Man, seriously." Kale said, rolling his eyes.

Adam growled and stood over Sayria. "I'm going to enjoy this." he said quietly, and then chopped off her hands. I saw Rain look away and Kale roll his eyes again as blood started to gush from Sayria's wrist stubs. She screamed. He laughed.

I sighed and examined my fingernails. Adam always did have a flair for the dramatic killing, if you will. I could see Aubrie squeezing her eyes shut and mumbling something.

I heard another scream, to find out that Adam had cut off her legs at the knee now. The guy was on a high, I swear. "Please!" she was begging. "Please! Stop it!"

Kale and Saul were trying to avoid getting blood on their hands as they looked at each other with sort of disgusted looks on their face. Adam was still laughing. "Stop? You want me to make it stop hurting, little girl?"

"Please!" she screamed in between her sobs. Aubrie had a few tears leaking out of her eyes.

"Alright." Adam said, shrugging. I raised my eyebrows. Was he just going to leave her here to bleed out? "I'll make it stop. You won't feel a thing." He paused. "Actually, you'll feel it a lot."

And with a flick of his wrist, he shot out her eyes with expert aim, and then quickly beheaded her with his axe.

"Oh my God…" Rain whispered.

A canon shot somewhere in the distance as all was silent, the screams gone forever.

Kale Solomowitz, District Two POV

I held out my hands in front of me as I assessed them. Unfortunately, they were dripping with blood. It was kind of nasty. I saw Rain cover her mouth, as if she was trying not to barf. I rolled my eyes yet again. I swear, this group is crazy. "Rain, get over it." I said.

Rose shot me a look. "Kale, be nicer. Some people don't handle blood as well as you sadists do."

"Oh, so now you're not a sadist? I thought you were the queen." I said mockingly.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't want to kill you," she said. "But I will if I get annoyed. And I bet no one here would stop me."

I looked around at our group, realizing for the first time that perhaps we all weren't quite as chummy as we looked. We could turn on each other at any time. It was only our need to survive that kept us together. But really, in the end, how many of us could be left? "Whatever." I countered quietly.

A sob broke into our conversation. It was the girl in the corner we had tied up. "Oh." Rain said, surprised that someone was still here.

"So what do we do with her?" Saul asked.

"I say we leave her with one or two guards while the rest of us go back and decide her future." Stark said. "Make her squirm." He laughed.

Rose smiled. "Sure. Kale, Saul, you stay." I sighed. I always get to do the dirty work.

"My vote is she dies." I volunteered. Saul grunted in agreement.

"We'll take that into consideration." she said sweetly.

I heard more muffled sobs as Rose, Rain, Marissa, Stark, and Adam left. I whirled around. "Shut up, will you? Or we'll have to make you shut up."

Saul snorted. "I'm sure the high and mighty committee won't mind. I hate how we're always the ones to do stuff."

I nodded. "I know. It's like we're her henchmen."

"We might as well be; bro."

"Whatever." I said, too angry at Rose to think about our prisoner's crying habits. Finally, she shut up. "Thank you." I said, letting out a huge breath.

"You're welcome." a clear voice said. Instantly, I could feel a sharp tip at my neck. "You move, I shoot, and you're dead."

Saul widened his eyes in surprised. "Whoa, dude. She got out."

"Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious!" I shot back angrily.

"Chill. I was just telling you that it's her and not some other rouge." Saul said, obviously hurt.

"Now listen, Captain," Aubrie said mockingly. "I want you to go back to the Careers and tell them that I killed him. You will relay this message: I will take you down. You showed no mercy to me, and I shall show no mercy to you until every one of your canons has gone off."

He rolled his eyes. "That's way too long. Besides, this way it's two against one."

"If you don't leave, I'll kill you, too."

"Sure, right, whatever." he said.

Aubrie laughed coldly and the needle-like weapon was removed from my neck, replaced by fingers. "I learned pressure points in training," she warned me happily. With that wonderful thought, she shot Saul directly in his heart. He dropped to the ground like a sack of heavy gems.

I could tell he was slowly dying. "What did you do to him?" I asked. He was moaning loudly.

"Eh, just a little poison." she told me nonchalantly.

"Poison?" I asked, afraid.

"Yeah. Now, do you want to run back to your friends and tell them, or should I kill you, too?"

"What was the message?" I asked, not wanting to get killed, obviously. There was a beautiful girl standing behind me ticked off about something.

She laughed again. "Nevermind. You stood by while that monster killed my friend—in fact, you helped him. And for that, you deserve the same fate. Goodbye, Kale."

And I fell to the ground. A canon shot in the distance, and I vaguely wondered if it was Saul's or if I was having an out of body experience. Either way, I could feel the poison seeping through my veins, taking over my body and claiming it for its own. I groaned. Why did I ever volunteer? Mom…my sisters…Juno…they all needed me…and suddenly I regretted everything I had ever done in these Games. I regretted every mean action and word I had spoken. I regretted it all, but in my heart, I knew it was too late.

"I'm sorry…"

Three people, three tributes had died already today. Three lives had been claimed that probably regretted everything they had done. But it wasn't in our hands now. I prayed that whoever was up there had a lot of mercy. "I'm sorry…" I whispered.

But this time, I was looking at my own body as I floated up to the end of my life.

Jack Sandstorm, District Three POV

As the third cannon of the day went off, within a minute of the second one, I could see Juliette's black hair covering her face in a protective and sad gesture. Ivy was trying to comfort her, but I could see it wasn't working. I stood up, brushed the tree bark off of my pants, and went over to her.

"Hey," I whispered. "It's going to be fine…we won't let anyone get to you."

"Katarina…" she said. "And you, and Ivy, and Ben." She burst into sobs on the last name. "And me. We're all going to be dead. All of us."

"That's not true." I told her awkwardly. It was sort of true. One of us could live.

"Yes, it is, too!" Juliette flopped onto the ground. "It's useless."

I backed away to my tree, having dismally failed at trying to make her feel better. Ivy came to sit by me.

"Sorry about that." I told her.

She shrugged. "Juliette just really hates death. Poor girl." There was silence, apart from Juliette's quiet, foreboding sobs.

Ben returned from scouting the perimeter around our camp area, and saw Juliette. He looked at us as if to say 'What happened to her?' Ivy and I shrugged helplessly in synch, the only thing we seemed to be able to do.

He made himself comfortable on the ground, talking softly to her, and her cries eased up. The color slowly returned to her cheeks, and before long, she was mustering small amused chuckles.

Ivy sighed and proceeded to warm up a little chunk of bread and berry mush for each of us. It had been about five minutes before Juliette came up to the fire and began to help Ivy.

Out of the blue, we heard moans and groans of a pained person. Ben picked up his knife and Ivy hers. Juliette scrambled behind Ben as I looked at her. I wonder if she realized I loved her? Then I shook my head. This was life or death, and I was thinking about love.

Everyone stood as a boy, bleeding from an arm wound and favoring one leg, hobbled into the clearing. He looked up in surprise. "Help?" he whispered.

Juliette sniffed, and emerged from behind Ben. "Sit down next to the fire." she whispered back. The three of us looked at each other, astonished. Didn't she hate death? Seeing our looks, she shrugged. "If I can do something about it, I won't let him die."

The boy did, indeed sit down, nursing his arm. I noticed another small wound above his eye. "What happened to you?" I asked him; at the same time that Ivy asked "What's your name?"

"Rilan." he said to Ivy. "And I fell into a trap…literally. The Careers dug me out and gave me these wounds," He pointed to his arm and eye. "So I'd bleed out and—or leave a trail for them."

Juliette clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Do we have a needle?" she asked.

"Erm…maybe. I think I saw one in the green bag." Ivy said, picking up the bag in question and searching its pockets. "Here's one, and some thread. But it's all we have." she added skeptically.

"Would you want someone to let you die?" Juliette countered.

"Burn." I said under my breath to Ben. He laughed quietly.

Ivy looked around. "Well, no, but…"

Juliette grabbed the needle and thread and wasted no time in putting some water and a piece of worn cloth over his arm wound. "Put pressure on that for a little while." she instructed.

I sat down. "Looks like you've got this under control." I commented. She merely nodded, distracted by her task. After about five minutes, she threaded the needle and took off the cloth. "You know how to do this?" I asked her warily.

She shrugged. "I sew things at home sometimes…well, I watch my mother sew things…so that should be good enough." I held back a laugh.

"Okay."

There was silence, except for perhaps the wind rustling through the tall grass. Juliette was biting her lip as her fingers slowly slid the needle through Rilan's skin. She winced once or twice, but for the most part there was no more blood. She lowered her mouth to bite off the thread, and gave a small smile. "Done."

Rilan sat up slowly. "Um," he paused. "Thanks."

"It was nothing. I hope it didn't hurt too much."

"My arm is pretty numb anyways."

"Okay."

Again, the silence prevailed, until Ivy sat down. "So…do we let you go, or are you staying?" she asked him.

Rilan looked too weak to shrug. "I was hoping you'd let me stay." he said quietly. The stitches on his arm were beginning to get red from the blood he was losing. As I looked around us, I realized he really had basically bled out on the ground.

Juliette, however, looked too happy that she had done something good to realize that Rilan was probably going to die no matter what she did.

Ivy nodded. "Okay." She made him up some mush, and we made small talk for the rest of the night; asking him what District he was from, about his family, and his friends—and he asked us about ourselves.

It was just about dusk when Rilan laid down. I looked at Ben, who was sitting next to me, with a look that said I was scared. Ben nodded.

"Grandfather?" Rilan asked, opening his eyes. His stitches were completely bleeding open now. "Is that you? Are you mad? I'm sorry. You can have your watch back. We'll just have to walk over to the hole to get it. Come with me."

He got up and reached out his hand to another invisible one. We all stood up with him, but he was unaware of us.

"It's just over here. Come on…"

Juliette's eyes were as big as saucers. "I…I fixed him…I was supposed to…" She followed him as he walked out of the clearing. "Rilan? Rilan! Listen to me!"

He turned his head. "Oh, hello, Juliette. Grandfather, this is Juliette. Juliette, this is my Grandfather. It's his pocket watch I lost in that dreadful hole."

Juliette's brow wrinkled. "Rilan, there's no one there."

"But of course there is! It's Grandfather!" His eyes flashed, and I walked up beside Juliette.

"Just let it go." I said quietly, leading her back to the clearing. She struggled.

"No! He's going to die out there!"

I swallowed hard. "Then there's nothing you can do about it." I took her face in my hands. "It is what it is. If he survives, you, and I, and Ben, and Ivy—we can't, Juliette."

Her eyes watered and she threw her arms around me. I hugged her, unsure what to say.

Five minutes later, a canon went off, and she retreated to her corner to cry.

"I was supposed to fix him…"

"You couldn't, Juliette." Ivy said. "You just couldn't."

"I could have!"

"You couldn't. Once a person has all but died…they are dead to the arena. Dead to the Gamemakers. Dead to the world."

"It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair."

I think a little part of all of us died today.

* * *

**A/N: It is completely atrocious how horrible my updating skills are, but I did just start high school, and everyone knows what school in general does to your writing habits. (And I apologize in advance for this extraordinarily long A/N.)**

**I would like to thank every single person who reviewed, because you are the dedicated people who inspire me to do what I do! I tried to make this chapter extra-long for you guys. ;D I couldn't access the reviews at the time I wrote this, so all names will be listed next chapter.**

**Also, I published this quickly without beta-ing it so I could get it to you guys.**

**Eulogies!**

**Sayria Nell~ I loved you, I really did. You were fun…but then how else would Aubrie have killed a bunch of people for you? I'll always remember you as that cute little wood sprite who got my most creative costume for the chariots ever. I loved you, truly…so maybe I'll write about you some other time. ;)**

**Saul Giovanni~ Thanks for being a cool character, and for bringing the Snake into the Careers. You were an integral part of the story, but this was your time to die. Have a nice afterlife.**

**Kale Solomowitz~ Maybe you should have decided to repent earlier, but, hey, not my problem. One less tribute. You were, however, fun to write, so I hope you have a nice afterlife, too.**

**Rilan Hemworth~ You were a nice guy, sure, but just be glad that I didn't make you die in the bloodbath. Albeit, you didn't deserve to die that way, so I hope your afterlife is happy with your grandfather.**

**Peace, Love, Happiness, Chocolate,**

**~DG~**


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